US to send Ukraine $1bln package with Harpoon anti-ship missiles
The United States sends a $1 billion package to Ukraine for security and defense.
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US-made Harpoon anti-ship missile launched from a land-based system
The US is set to announce a $1 billion defense package for Ukraine, which will include Harpoon missile launchers, howitzers, and ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), according to Politico.
According to the report, the package will include two truck-mounted Harpoon launchers, 18 howitzers, 36,000 artillery rounds, HIMARS ammunition, and optics.
The $1 billion in funding for the equipment comes from $650 million in congressional Ukraine assistance passed by the US Congress last month and $350 million in drawdown authority, the report says.
The Biden administration announced a military aid package for Ukraine last Wednesday, including 1,000 anti-tank Javelin missiles, 50 command launch units, four Mi-17 helicopters, and four HIMARS systems.
Read next: US Senate to approve $40-billion aid package for Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops have shelled civilian areas with some of the supplied weapon systems, specifically artillery. On Monday, the city of Donetsk was subjected to the most intense shelling by Ukrainian forces since 2015, with six civilians killed and more than 30 others injured.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia stated that 155mm artillery rounds supplied to Ukraine by the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and others killed civilians in Donetsk. The countries that supplied Ukraine with the weapons used to kill civilians will be held accountable, according to Nebenzia.
US will provide another $1Bln security aid package to Ukraine
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the United States will provide Ukraine with a new $1 billion security aid package.
"I informed President Zelenskyy that the United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas," Biden said in a press release.
It is noteworthy that all the aid packages come while the US suffers from inflation. US market indexes fell to their lowest levels in more than three weeks. The S&P 500 index finished 2.4 percent lower, or 97.95 points, at 4017.82, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9 percent, or 638.11 points, to 32272.79.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, which is centered on technology, fell 2.7 percent, or 332.05 points, to 11754.23. For much of the day, the major indices were in small drops until plummeting in the final hour of trade.
