US announces new weapons package to Ukraine worth $2.5Bn

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Jan 09:01

This latest package includes Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers.

A 5-kilowatt laser sits on a Stryker armored vehicle. The laser was tested during the Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment at Fort Sill, Okla., April 5, 2017. (US Army)

The Biden administration announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth $2.5 billion, this time to include Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers, sources reported on Thursday.

"This authorization, which is valued at up to $2.5 billion, is the Biden Administration’s thirtieth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It contains hundreds of armored vehicles, critical support for Ukraine’s air defense and other important capabilities," a statement issued by the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The statement adds that the package includes 59 Bradley and 90 Stryker vehicles, 53 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPS), 350 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled vehicles (HMMVS); as well as a variety of artillery, anti-armor, and small arms munitions.

It also includes eight Avenger air defense systems and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) previously provided by the US.

This marks the second package to Ukraine since the year began.

The first, worth $3.75 billion, was announced on January 6, and included 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, 500 TOW anti-tank missiles, and 250,000 rounds of 22mm ammunition.

It also included 100 M113 Armored Personel Carriers, 55 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), and 13 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).

The package additionally provided Ukraine with 36 105mm towed Howitzers and 95,000 105mm artillery rounds.

It also included 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, additional ammunition for HIMARS, and approximately 2,000 anti-armor rockets.

The Pentagon further stated that the package will include - for the first time ever - the Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft, anti-missile weapon systems which, according to Cooper, will be integrated into the Soviet Buk surface-to-air missile system

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?