The USA will announce a new $375 million aid package to Ukraine on Wednesday: the media learned what it will include

On Wednesday, Washington will announce a new package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 375 million dollars. This is the largest aid package sent to Kyiv since May. Voice of America was told about this by several American officials on condition of anonymity, it reports UNN.

One government official told VOA that the package would likely include air-to-surface munitions for F-16 fighter jets that would allow Ukrainian pilots to hit targets far from the front lines and the range of Russian air defenses.

The package also includes ammunition for HIMARS, patrol boats and armored vehicles, as well as 155 mm rounds, 105 mm rounds and TOW missiles, the official added.

The list of means is still being finalized and could change, US officials say. The weapons are being sent under the Presidential Authorization Act, which allows the Pentagon to send aid to Ukraine directly from its military stockpiles.

Let’s add

The media note that the Pentagon has more than $5 billion left of the $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was signed into law by President Joe Biden in April and could expire at the end of this month. The U.S. Defense Department says it is working with Congress to move the remaining funding into the next U.S. fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Officials told VOA they are working on contingency plans if Congress doesn’t approve it by the end of the fiscal year.

The package is expected to be announced amid Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scheduled meeting with President Biden and Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at the White House on Thursday. Officials say Zelensky will lay out his “victory plan” for ending the war with Russia and push for the lifting of restrictions on US-provided weapons.

Currently, US policy does not allow Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to impress targets deep in Russian territory. The White House expressed concern that the strikes could draw the United States into direct conflict with Russia.

Earlier this month, Zelensky told military allies meeting in Germany that Ukraine needed a long-range capability to strike deep inside Russian territory “so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.”

The US says Russia has moved most of its aircraft and weapons beyond the range of Ukrainian weapons, but Ukrainian officials are still interested in targeting supply lines and command centers closer to their border.

The USA can send Ukraine an aid package worth 375 million dollars. with missiles for F-16 – PoliticoSeptember 21, 2024, 07:59 • 55656 views

General James Hecker, the commander of US Air Force Europe and Africa, warned reporters last week that the Russian military is now bigger and stronger than it was before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this, Ukraine continues to destroy important Russian military targets, shooting down more than 100 Russian aircraft. Russia was able to shoot down dozens fewer Ukrainian planes, Hecker said.

“So we see planes staying on their side across the demarcation line, and when that happens, the kind of war that we see today, with mass attrition, where cities are just destroyed and there’s a lot of civilian casualties,” he said.

The US and Denmark train a small number of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, but the number of qualified Ukrainian pilots and places in Western training centers are limited.

A meeting of the leaders of the USA, Germany, France and Britain will take place in Germany. They will talk about aid to Ukraine – mass mediaSeptember 24, 2024, 17:54 • 13318 views