The U.S. Department of Defense announced $400 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday, including air defense missiles, armored vehicles and small drones, as Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia grinds on.
The new aid package, which was first reported by Reuters, will include for the first time U.S. furnished Black Hornet surveillance drones made by Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies.
The Norwegian-built Hornet is being used in Ukraine through donations by the British and Norwegian governments, the company said. FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems was awarded a $93 million contract in April to provide the small reconnaissance drones to the U.S. Army.
In addition, the weapons aid package includes munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers and a variety of other missiles and rockets.
The assistance is funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorizes the president to quickly transfer articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from U.S. excess inventory.
This is the 43rd security assistance package approved by the United States for Ukraine. More than $43 billion in U.S. military aid has been provided since Russia's invasion in 2022.
Commenting on the aid announcement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted Russia's attacks on Ukraine ports and Ukrainian infrastructure since withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last week.
"Russia could end this war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraine's cities and people. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes," Blinken said in a statement.
The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.
Britain said on Tuesday it had information indicating Russia's military might start targeting civilian shipping in the Black Sea, while the European Union pledged to help Ukraine export almost all its farm produce via rail and road.
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
31 Comments
Superlib
I hope the invading Russians enjoy them.
Yrral
Blinken is nothing but an insecure diplomat do not have the courage to stand up to crazy Republicans,the US is Ukraine no more as guinea pig to test weapon systems, knowing the ultimate results will be a negotiation,in which Russian stay in occupation of part of Ukrainain territory
Thuban
Because the previous 42 security assistance packages have already been beaten back by demoralized 17 year-old conscripts who sent into battle only with shovels.
And don't forget, the Russians are using WW2 era tanks from museums and their trucks have no engines in them.
But incredibly they stand their ground against all these fancy billion dollar toys.
2020hindsights
Well they can't hope to do this by sending missiles, so they will have to take their ships out of hiding and risk the fate of the Moscow.
Superlib
Have created a lot of grieving mothers with over 100,000 dead Russian soldiers. Worth it? That's something you and I can probably agree on. Yes.
Pass me the ice cream.
Jimizo
Almost simpering. I’d turn the gushing down a little. This isn’t a BTS gig.
Anyway, when is all this US aid to Ukraine going to stop?
We were told months ago by rightwing North American podcast watchers that the US people had had enough of this and literally ‘nobody cares’.
cleo
Does an attack on a ship registered in a NATO country count the same as an attack on that country?
AlternativeOpinion
It’s time NATO became more involved and blockaded the Black Sea. Turkey needs to show whose side they are on. War is coming and we should be doing everything we can to weaken the bear before larger conflict breaks out, which it will. This is no time to blink.
Antiquesaving
If the aid ends up like this, it will not help.
The Sun showing a Ukrainian military video on Russian tank being hit by a Lancet.
Ukrainian watermark on the video.
One problem! It is a German made leopard tank!
https://youtu.be/fVmhxx5VrAA
And the rest of the full video shows another leopard tank also being destroyed.
Look carefully.
La vie douce
It’s time NATO became more involved and blockaded the Black Sea."
Right, Russia bombed the port of Reni , 200 metres from a border of Romania, a NATO member. Apart from condemnation by Romanian PM and President there was hardly any outrage from NATO. NATO isn't any more interested in fighting a bloody war with Russia, then the Russians are in fighting NATO, easier for them to just keep supplying weapons to Ukraine.
"War is coming and we should be doing everything we can to weaken the bear before larger conflict breaks out, which it will. This is no time to blink."
You sound keen on what would possibly be the bloodiest conflict in history. Luckily most western public doesn't share your desire to be involved in a war with nuclear armed Russia which would view such conflict as a direct threat to its existence. Ceasefire needs to be negotiated in Ukraine not escalation to WW3.
Mr Kipling
Woohoo..... The latest of the "game changers" that change nothing. Well, Unless the goal is to turn Ukrainians and Russians to dead Ukrainians and Russians.
lincolnman
And one part of the fractured Repub party cheers....
The other part (the "Kook" part) rage in anger...
Keep in-fighting your way to irrelevance Repubs...
Jim Dandy
Poor Ukraine is caught between expansionist Russian dreams and western lack of acceptance of it. Zelensky had a chance to join the EU and NATO before the war except they were at war with Russia since 2014 and could not join.
Zelensky's knowledge of Hunter Biden's and Slick Joe's ridiculous extortion scam pretending to employ Hunter Biden has been leveraged into billions of taxpayer dollars going to Ukraine. All be it for good cause. His money vacuum from the USA may disappear after the next election. Putler knows this and now magically this news is being made public even though the main stream media outlets don't cover the facts. How is freedom of speech working in the USA? Turns out it can be bought and controlled.
In the middle Ukranian and Russian men and kids are suffering horrible injuries and dying. Just sad.
AlternativeOpinion
keen to end tyranny.
Typical Russian rhetoric and fear mongering.
No negotiations with terrorists.
La vie douce
"The Sun showing a Ukrainian military video on Russian tank being hit by a Lancet. Ukrainian watermark on the video. One problem! It is a German made leopard tank! https://youtu.be/fVmhxx5VrAA"
Yes indeed, The Sun editors are either incompetent or misleading on purpose. Either way this is one of the many videos out there showing the hits on dozens of Bradleys / Leopards during the unfortunate UAF counteroffensive push couple of days ago. Judging by the downvotes you got for simply stating a fact, the NATO propagandists / staffers here don't like it one bit.
Zaphod
They send everything but the kitchen sink to Zelenski, but the basic fact remains that for the US this is just another proxy war, while for Russia this is an existential crisis. Stop the insanity now and negotiate.
AlternativeOpinion
once again taking that grain of truth and stretching it as far as you can, pathetic.
Rodney
totally agree. Azov are terrorists but backed by EU Neo Nazis, NATO and Baltic states.
AlternativeOpinion
it wasn't but it it sure is now
AlternativeOpinion
We can agree that we have no common ground. Let's shake that tree!
Cards fan
lol How is invading Ukraine an existential crisis? Silly.
Raw Beer
I wonder how many of these drones will actually make it to Ukraine.
La vie douce
"once again taking that grain of truth and stretching it as far as you can, pathetic."
Actually not, What is pathetic is your denial of facts when the video evidence is clearly out there, you can see many of those hits on this Military Summary site for example ( if you bother to actually watch it ) www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DmrM3Jeq97gE%26t%3D927s
Can't deny what is plain to see in those clips. If you prefer to live in the NATO vehicles and tanks are near invincible, Russians are running out of missiles, fighting with shovels and museum tanks bubble, fine that's your perogative. Reality unfortunately shows otherwise, regardless of what many want to believe. Researching facts from both sides of conflict leads to a more balanced view - you should try it sometimes.
Mr Kipling
Antiquesaving....
This is nothing new, this has been the case since the start of the conflict. Every destroyed T72 tank was Russian, even some with obvious Ukrainian markings.
Antiquesaving
Actually no stretching anything.
The USA DOD, UK DOD even the most left Western news services have acknowledged that Ukraine has lost 30% of its equipment in the past several weeks.
At last count independently verified using published photos as confirmation at least 28 leopard tanks have been destroyed or disabled and this is only what can be visually verified in videos and images.
Even Oryx which is extremely conservative on losses have confirmed a 30% loss.
Oryx confirmed that in June alone 28 Bradley destroyed or abandoned, this out of 99 Ukraine received.
We are now at the end of July!
And again these are only what has actually been 100% verified by Oryx using visual confirmation.
So we can conclude the actual losses are higher.
AlternativeOpinion
I'm not denying anything, Only a fool would think NATO is invincible and the Russians are clueless. I'll give credit to the Russians, the defenses are formidable. The bakhmut fiasco gave the Russians time to build up a strong defensive line with depth. The surrendering of Kherson was a sound strategic decision, and then flooding the river forced Ukraine to give up any ideas of a crossing, Brilliant move! They are forcing the battlefront into a stalemate, attacking civilian infrastructure keeps the air defense systems to the rear while creating despair amongst the population, all the while calling for negotiations to end hostilities. but we all know how that would play out, emboldening Russia for it's next conquest.
As long as Ukraine is willing to defend itself, the world must help.
Antiquesaving
Except now it seems Ukraine military propaganda department forgot they are now using NATO equipment and people can identify it all
My question on this SUN news video is was this a Russia video that the Ukrainian military copied and put their watermark on and gave to western media thinking it would fool people.
Of is it actually a Ukrainian Lancet actually destroying a Ukrainian leopard tank by mistake and the propaganda department didn't realize it.
Basically was this a case of friendly fire or a mistake by the Ukrainian military propaganda using Russian footage thinking no one would know the difference between a T72 T 90 and a leopard tank.
La vie douce
More evidence is emerging that Putin knew the Wagner mutiny was coming, but couldn't do anything about it - he couldn't trust his own military from joining up with them...so he just sat on his hands down in his bunker...
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/putin-just-hid-during-wagners-153113575.html"
Your source is a finance section of yahoo news quoting a "former Russian colonel " opinion... thanks for the lunchtime amusement. Sounds about as credible as your claim yesterday that not Ukranian drones but Putin himself attacked the Moscow office buildings 2 days ago while Ukraine Ministry of Defense actually proudly claimed responsibility for it on CNN. Good one, lol.