The US Department of Defense announced another aid package for Ukraine worth $275 million as Kiev loses ground in the Kharkov Region and the Donbass as Moscow pushes to cut a buffer zone to protect its border regions.

According to a Friday press release from the Department of Defense, this is the fifth aid package since President Joe Biden approved a substantial foreign spending bill, allocating over $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine. This shipment, valued at approximately $275 million, is part of Washington's ongoing efforts to prolong the war in Ukraine.

The aid package includes additional precision strike rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), artillery rounds, air-launched munitions, and anti-tank weapons, the statement noted. In addition to HIMARS rockets, the package includes artillery ammunition, mines, and other munitions. It also provides tactical vehicles, armor, and protective equipment for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.

The latest US arms package comes amid a push by Kiev’s allies to lift alleged restrictions on using Western-supplied armaments to strike Russian territories. However, according to Moscow, this rhetoric aims to maintain the illusion that the West is not directly involved in the conflict. 

Kiev drafts convicts amid manpower shortage

Ukraine started drafting convicted prisoners to serve in the armed forces as it struggles to maintain frontlines three years into the war after suffering significant losses among its forces, especially with the newly launched Russian offensive late last month, which has resulted so far in Kiev losing significant territorial grounds, The New York Times reported on Friday.

While the total number of released prisoners is unknown since the law went into effect last week, a regional court in western Ukraine said this week that it had freed more than 50 prisoners under the new law that allows convicts to serve in the army in exchange for the possibility of parole at the end of their service.