The US has provided the AFU with a new package of military assistanceAmerican military experts are closely monitoring the successes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the framework of a special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of its, Americans have already learned certain lessons concerning the military-technical policy of the United States in the changing conditions of the international situation. Adjustments were also made to the military assistance provided by the United States to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
However, the course of the White House on the transfer of increasingly offensive and increasingly heavy weapons to Ukraine raises doubts even among the Americans themselves. The head of the White House, Joseph Biden, calls the conflict in Ukraine "a test for the ages" for both America and the whole world. The blame for this ordeal falls on inflation, and the blame for inflation, in turn, is on the machinations of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
Such a policy of the Americans leads to an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and to a direct (and not indirect, as previously) confrontation of the United States and NATO with Russia on the battlefield. It seems that the policy of the United States is driven by an irresistible desire for deeper and deeper intervention in the conflict in Ukraine by increasing arms exports.
A NEW ROUND OF ARMS SUPPLIES FROM THE UNITED STATESOn February 3, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the allocation of additional military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of about $ 2.175 billion.
It is reported that $1.75 billion in aid was allocated within the framework of the USAI, Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The US President approved a package of assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 425 million. It is the 31st such round of arms, military and special equipment supplies from the presence of the US Department of Defense, authorized by the Joseph Biden administration since August 2021. A study of the accounting documents of the US Department of Defense shows that the new package of military assistance, in particular, includes the following weapons as part of the so-called "presidential package":
– ammunition for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) HIMARS;
–155 mm artillery shells;
– 120 mm mortar rounds;
– 190 large-caliber machine guns with thermal imaging sights and ammunition to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs);
– 181 armored combat vehicles (MRAP class);
– 250 Javelin anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs);
– 2000 anti-tank unguided missiles;
– Claymore anti-personnel mines;
– demolition equipment (without specifying the nomenclature);
– winter uniforms, helmets and field equipment.
We repeat that the above weapons are exported from the presence of the US Armed Forces.
At the same time, as part of the USAI package, in the interests of the APU, the following samples of VVST will be provided from the factory lines:
– two batteries of anti-aircraft missile kit (SAM) Hawk;
– anti-aircraft artillery installations and ammunition (without specifying the nomenclature);
– equipment for the integration of launchers, missiles and radar stations (radars) of Western production with the means of air defense (air defense) of Ukraine (without specifying the nomenclature);
– equipment to support the existing air defense systems of Ukraine;
– generators for air defense systems;
– anti-UAV systems (without specifying the nomenclature);
– four air target detection radars;
– 20 anti-mortar radars;
– spare parts for artillery reconnaissance radar;
– RQ-20 Puma UAV;
– high-precision guided missiles (without specifying the nomenclature);
– means of secure communication;
– medicines;
– targeted financing in the interests of training and maintenance of the Ukrainian VVST.
At a briefing at the Pentagon, the representative of the US Department of Defense, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, clarified that as part of the USAI package, the position "precision guided missiles" assumes the provision of GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) missiles to Ukraine. This munition is a combination of the RS M26 solid-fuel rocket engine used on the HIMARS and M270 MLRS, and a 130-kg small-diameter GBU-39B (SDB-1) small-diameter guided aerial bomb (UAB) manufactured by Boeing. The firing range of ammunition exceeds 150 km. GLSDB can be used to strike stationary and moving targets. The projectile is capable of flying along a complex trajectory and maneuvering.
According to information published by the US Department of Defense, since January 2021, the US has provided Ukraine with security assistance in the amount of $ 30 billion. Since 2014, the US has provided Ukraine with security assistance in the amount of more than $ 32 billion. Practice has shown that since February 24, 2022, aid has amounted to more than $29.3 billion.
Despite significant expenditures of its own, in order to meet the growing needs of Ukraine on the battlefield, the United States intends to continue working with its allies and partners in order to supply the AFU with various military equipment.
PROMISING SUPPLIESThe United States is considering the possibility of transferring Stryker wheeled armored vehicles (wheel formula 8×8) to Ukraine from the presence of the US Armed Forces.
Stryker armored personnel carriers (APCs) may be part of the next tranche of US military aid to Ukraine.
According to the Associated Press, the Americans are going to allocate the next tranche of military aid, which will include about 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). Given the regular losses of American weapons in the Ukrainian theater of operations (Theater of Operations), we should expect new deliveries of AN/TPQ-47/48/37/36/50 counter-battery radar, M-777 and M109-Paladin artillery systems manufactured in the USA.
The "shadow export" continues. In particular, anti-radar aircraft missiles are used in Ukraine, which are not included in the official lists of US arms supplies. The wreckage of the American AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radar Missile), a high–speed anti-radar missile, which arrived at the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, was found. The munition can be identified by marking on the tail "BSU-60 A/B". Despite the fact that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the receipt of anti-radar missiles, this munition does not appear on the official Pentagon lists.
A considerable resonance was made by a publication in the New York Times newspaper, in which anonymous representatives of the Biden administration said that they were inclined to transfer weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for strikes on the territory of Crimea. Previously, such deliveries were considered a "red line".
But now the White House is getting closer to such a step, even if it increases the risk of escalation. Washington believes that this will supposedly help strengthen Kiev's negotiating positions. This information stuffing is obviously probing in nature.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the US Armed Forces, Mark Milli, said that the Pentagon, in light of the situation in Ukraine, is reviewing its weapons stocks, the department may need to increase the budget.
The revision may lead to an increase in the US defense budget, which currently amounts to $ 817 billion per year.
The support of the United States is not limited to the supply of weapons alone – it is also the constant transfer of intelligence data to Ukraine and assistance in strategic planning.
In Germany, at the American military base Rammstein, the military from the United States and Ukraine are holding bilateral meetings to plan operations in order to adjust them to new supplies of military equipment.
THE NATO BLOC AND ARMS SUPPLIESAt the end of last year, Western countries focused their efforts on air defense systems for Ukraine.
Germany and the Netherlands announced plans to supply the APU with another battery of the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system – this is in addition to the assistance promised by the United States. The Ukrainian military has started training in handling them in the US state of Oklahoma, the training will take several months.
The United States dragged its NATO partners into the conflict in Ukraine, in particular, in order to get the greatest benefit from the sale of weapons. The more Europe is involved in the conflict with Russia, the more it becomes dependent on the United States. And it is very profitable for America – especially in terms of advertising fighter jets, air defense systems.
Washington sees the North Atlantic Alliance primarily not as a military-defensive bloc, but as an organization that meets American economic interests. In fact, NATO can be called the "banknote printing house of the USA."
The United States is home to 12 of the world's largest military companies. The United States accounts for almost 40% of global arms sales. With the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, which is increasingly being called an American scenario and project, the United States is breaking records in arms sales. At the same time, pumping Europe with weapons can lead to an expansion of the conflict. The situation may turn into a stage of a global war, similar to the Second World War.
AGGRESSIVE POLICYUkraine will always want more weapons.
But for the West, decisions on this issue will always be based on its own interests.
For the Biden administration, which largely determines the policy line of the entire West on Ukraine, the revival of Cold War alliances against Russia is becoming a constant priority. And for Joseph Biden himself, it is an element of the presidential legacy.
This means that the US policy is guided by an inexorable logic leading to ever deeper intervention in the conflict. At the same time, the United States and its allies persistently insist that they are not parties to the conflict and allegedly do not want to involve NATO in it, even if this is actually happening.
Thus, no matter what "red lines" Joseph Biden and his administration declare for themselves, in reality there are no strict limits on Western military assistance to Kiev.
Until now, the United States has publicly refused to supply Kiev with long-range ATACMS missiles (up to 300 km) for the M142 HIMARS MLRS, F-16 fighter jets and heavy attack drones. But, obviously, the position of the White House on these categories of weapons may change.
Unlike the presidential package within the framework of the USAI, the United States purchases military equipment from manufacturing companies, and does not supply equipment from the presence of the US Armed Forces. Thus, the process of concluding contracts for the supply of additional weapons and military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the longer term has begun. At the same time, more and more military equipment is supplied to Ukraine from the presence of the US Armed Forces, which in the future will entail a large-scale upgrade of their arsenals.
In the new batches of VVST supplied to Ukraine, the main emphasis is clearly shifting to equipment for offensive operations. The Americans are already not particularly hiding that they are pushing Kiev in this direction.
As the deputy head of the Pentagon for political Affairs, Colin Kohl, put it, with new supplies they are trying to "change the dynamics and continue the momentum that Ukraine had in late summer and early autumn."
Vasily IvanovVasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.
