As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the United States will provide $3.75 billion in military supplies and other aid to Ukraine and its neighbors on NATO’s eastern flank. The most recent aid package will include Bradley armored vehicles for Ukraine for the first time. The armored carrier, which can fire anti-tank missiles and is used to ferry troops to battle, is also referred to as a “tank-killer.”
According to the White House, the largest U.S. assistance package for Kyiv includes a $2.85 billion drawdown from the Pentagon’s stocks that will be given directly to Ukraine and $225 million in foreign military funding to increase Ukraine’s military’s long-term capacity and support modernisation. Additionally, it includes $682 million in foreign military funding for European allies to supplement military equipment commitments they have already committed to Ukraine.
“The conflict is at a crucial juncture, and we must do everything in our power to support the Ukrainians as they fend off Russian aggression, “Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, announced the assistance.
50 Bradleys, 500 anti-tank missiles, and 250,000 rounds of ammo for the carriers are all part of the direct aid to Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, the United States is also delivering 100 M113 armored personnel carriers, 55 MRAPS (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles), and 138 Humvees, along with thousands of artillery shells and ammo for air defense systems and other weapons.
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According to John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, the Bradleys will be especially helpful to Ukraine in the on-going fierce fighting taking place primarily in rural areas of eastern Ukraine.
“It’s closely related to the conflict we’re currently witnessing on the ground and what we expect to witness throughout the winter months, “added Kirby.
The U.S. has received criticism for being too sluggish to provide crucial weapons like the Bradley and combat tanks like the Abrams, which some claim may have aided in the conflict last year.
The deputy assistant secretary for Russia and Ukraine, Laura Cooper, stated that now is the appropriate time to provide the Bradley at the Pentagon. She noted that “the Ukrainians have shown a lot of rising proficiency in maintenance and sustainment.”
She said that providing tanks, such as the Pentagon’s more complicated, gas-guzzling, heavily armored M1 Abrams tank, would require additional maintenance and other training. The U.S.-led training, which is slated to begin later this month, will enable troops to operate, maintain, and repair the weaponry.
The White House and Pentagon unveiled the new American package as Germany declared it will send about 40 Marder armored personnel carriers to Ukraine in the first three months of this year. Following a phone chat on Thursday between President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany declared its plan to send the Marder APCs.
According to Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, “These 40 cars should be available in the first quarter already so that they may be turned over to Ukraine.” Hebestreit stated that experts anticipate the German effort to train Ukrainian personnel to operate the vehicles to take about eight weeks.
Three more IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems will be delivered by Germany this year in addition to the howitzers, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and other important military equipment already provided.
Insisting that Germany wouldn’t make such supplies alone, Scholz has long been skeptical of pressure to offer the Marder and other, larger Western-made vehicles like tanks. Officials pointed out that other nations had not contributed any. However, this week Germany, the U.S., and France all indicated preparations to send less powerful armored vehicles than tanks.
Germany supported agreements last year whereby Ukraine received equipment familiar to NATO partners in the east, while Germany provided those nations with more contemporary Western-made equipment in exchange.
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Hebestreit claimed that discussions on how to support Ukraine going forward had been taking on with the US and others since mid-December. He claimed that the prospect of delivering equipment made in the Soviet Union is “slowly coming to an end” as the situation in Ukraine changes as a result of significant Russian infrastructure strikes and combat that may intensify as the weather warms up.
Germany has been urged to send Leopard 2 battle tanks by the Ukrainian government as well as a number of German parliamentarians both inside and outside of Scholz’s ruling coalition. The action on Marder APCs was applauded by supporters of delivering the Leopard, who vowed to continue arguing their case.
Battle tanks, according to Hebestreit, were not a topic of discussion during Scholz and Biden’s chat on Thursday. He declared that Germany will uphold its ideals of providing Ukraine with the strongest possible support while working with NATO to share the burden of providing weapons and preventing NATO from joining Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
Germany also announced on Thursday that it would join the United States in providing Ukraine with a Patriot air defense missile battery. According to Hebestreit, it was requested by the U.S. and is also anticipated in the first quarter. It follows Patriot systems that Germany has already sent or aims to send to Poland and Slovakia.
