US to announce fresh $1.2b military aid package to Ukraine

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Citing unidentified US officials, AP reported that the US is anticipated to announce another $1.2 billion military aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday, intended as a long-term provision. 

According to AP, the package is also intended to boost and prolong Ukraine's defenses against Russia, and will be sent under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

The package, to be spent over months or even years, includes air defense systems, munitions and drones, artillery, rockets, satellite imagery assistance, and maintenance funding.    

New of the package comes exactly a week after the US' last announcement of a package of $300 million, which according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, included heavy artillery and ammunition, anti-tank weaponry, and other field equipment.

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"Pursuant to a delegation of authority from President Biden, I am authorizing our 37th drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine valued at $300 million," Blinken said in a statement.

According to the statement, the assistance package also includes extra ammunition for howitzers, artillery, and tank systems, as well as trucks and trailers for the transportation of heavy machinery.

The first package this year was a $3 billion package in military aid to Ukraine, which included Bradley military vehicles, self-propelled howitzer artillery guns, MRAPS vehicles, Sea Sparrow missiles, and ammo, among other military materials and equipment. 

In February, the Pentagon announced a $460 million package to Ukraine which included "more ammunition for US-provided HIMARS and Howitzers that Ukraine is using to defend their country as well as more Javelins, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars" per a Pentagon statement at the time. 

In December 2022, researchers of the Foreign Policy Research Institute argued that "ammunition availability might be the single most important factor that determines the course of the war in 2023, and that will depend on foreign stockpiles and production."

Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) assessed that the munition stockpiles that the US has been export-funneling to Ukraine have steadily decreased since the outbreak of the war.

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