On January 19, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the allocation of a new large-scale package of American military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of up to $ 2.5 billion. The total amount of US military assistance officially allocated to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 now amounts to more than $27.4 billion, and the total amount of US military assistance to Ukraine since 2014 has exceeded $ 29.5 billion.
Engineering version of the Stryker M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicle (ESV) armored personnel carrier from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the US Army, equipped with a Light Weight Mine Roller (LWMR) roller minesweeper, 24.10.2012 (c) Gertrud Zach / US ArmyThe new package of military assistance to Ukraine is provided by the orders of the US President within his administrative powers (Presidential Drawdown of Security Assistance - PDA) and is an operational allocation of property from the presence of the US Department of Defense.
This is the 30th presidential package of military assistance to Ukraine under the PDA from August 2021.
This new package of military assistance to Ukraine provides:
- 59 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 590 TOW anti-tank guided missiles and 295 thousand rounds of 25 mm caliber;
- 90 Stryker wheeled armored vehicles in the armored personnel carrier variant, including 20 equipped with roller minesweepers;
- eight combat vehicles of the Avenger short-range anti-aircraft missile system (with Stinger missiles);
- an unnamed additional number of GMLRS precision guided missiles for HIMARS missile systems;
- 53 wheeled armored vehicles of the MRAP class of an unspecified type;
- 350 HMMWV cars;
- 20 thousand artillery rounds of 155 mm caliber;
- about 600 high-precision artillery shots of 155 mm caliber (apparently M982 Excalibur);
- up to 95 thousand artillery rounds of 105 mm caliber;
- 11,800 120 mm mortar shells;
- an unnamed number of AMRAAM anti-aircraft guided missiles for NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems;
- an unnamed number of aviation anti-radar missiles HARM;
- 12 ammunition transport vehicles [as can be understood, armored M992 FAASV];
- six command and staff vehicles [possibly of the M577 type];
- 22 trucks for towing artillery pieces;
- about 2,000 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers;
- more than 3 million cartridges for small arms;
- Claymore directional anti-personnel mines;
- night vision devices;
- spare parts and other field equipment.
It should be noted that the announced package did not include, contrary to earlier reports, long- range high-precision Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) missiles . Although in theory there is a possibility that their supplies may be disguised as "additional ammunition" for HIMARS, however, GLSDB missiles should be weapons of new production, and, therefore, should not be carried out through the allocation of property from the availability of PDA directives, but funded by other programs - primarily by the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) for the purchase and production of new weapons and military equipment from industry.
What is new in this package is the allocation of 90 Stryker wheeled armored vehicles (8x8) for the first time, and it is indicated that they are provided in an armored personnel carrier version (that is, apparently, modifications of the M1126), including 20 equipped with roller minesweepers (apparently, standard for Stryker trawls Light Weight Mine Roller - LWMR). In the US Army, LWMR minesweepers are usually used on the engineering modification of the Stryker M1132, and it is unclear whether vehicles of this modification will also be transferred.
In the new package, 59 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles are also allocated to Ukraine - in addition to the first 50 vehicles announced for transfer on January 6 . Earlier it was reported that Ukraine is provided with M2A2 ODS modification machines.
In addition, in the new package, Ukraine has allocated eight more combat vehicles of the Avenger short-range anti-aircraft missile system (with Stinger missiles) - in addition to the first four, the planned transfer of which was announced on November 10.Taking into account this package, the total number of 155-mm artillery rounds transferred or planned to be transferred by the Americans to Ukraine has reached 1.094 million units (300 thousand of them are new production), 105-mm artillery rounds - 370 thousand units, 120-mm mortar mines - 166 thousand units, 155-mm high-precision artillery shots (apparently, M982 Excalibur) - exceeded 5800 units.
