June 21, 2022
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced $1 billion in new military aid for Ukraine that will pay for heavy weapons including advanced rockets, new rounds for howitzers, and anti-ship systems.
The weapons are expected to arrive in Ukraine within the next few months. The U.S. has given Ukraine over $5.6 billion in military aid since the war started on 24 February. The U.S. also provided Ukraine with $40 billion in new funding to support the economic crisis in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the U.S. also announced $700 million in advanced rocket-launcher systems and 1,000 Javelin missiles.
Biden told reporters that he had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the announcement. The Pentagon issued a statement that said the latest round of support will provide Ukraine with 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds of ammunition for the howitzers, and two Harpoon coastal defense systems.
Ukraine has said it needs more advanced rocket systems than the U.S. has promised if it stands a chance against Russia in the eastern flank of Ukraine.
“If we get 60 of these systems then the Russians will lose all ability to advance anywhere, they will be stopped dead in their tracks,” Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Zelensky, said. “If we get 40 they will advance, albeit very slowly with heavy casualties; with 20 they will continue to advance with higher casualties than now.”
Reports said the amount of weapons is still short of what Kyiv has requested. The New York Times reported that Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he was grateful for the weapons, but needed more heavy weapons and faster. (See “WEAPONS POURING IN TO UKRAINE, NO TALK OF PEACE, JUST MORE WEAPONS” and “WARMONGERS ON PARADE: WEST SENDS MORE WEAPONS TO UKRAINE TO KEEP THE KILLINGS GOING.”)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was in Brussels at the time of Biden’s announcement, said other countries also agreed to send additional military aid.
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