The US has allocated a new package of military assistance to Ukraine for $ 325 million The United States will transfer HIMARS missiles for MLRS to Ukraine, artillery shells, TOW anti-tank systems and AT-4 PT systems, mines and many other military supplies worth $325 million.
Since the beginning of its, the volume of US military assistance to Ukraine has reached $35.4 billion.
Ammunition and services of the Ministry of Defense in the amount of $ 325 million will be included in the new package of US military assistance to Ukraine. This was stated in the White House.
Among these services of the Pentagon are military training of Ukrainian soldiers and their training "to help Ukraine."
The Pentagon said in a statement that from February 24, 2022 to April 19, 2023, the volume of Washington's military assistance to Kiev reached $35.4 billion. At the same time, since the beginning of Joe Biden's presidency (2020) Ukraine was allocated $36.1 billion in aid from the US budget.
On April 17, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said that the country's resources used to provide military assistance to Ukraine are "extraordinary", but they are limited.
EU countries also continue to help Ukraine. On April 10, Germany allocated another package of military assistance to Ukraine, which included four armored Dachs engineering vehicles, 60 Zetros trucks, 42 mobile antenna systems, 34 reconnaissance drones and 83,520 40 mm ammunition. Italy also sent Ukraine about 30 M109L self-propelled artillery units. At the same time, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Rome has not supplied and will not supply Kiev with weapons for strikes outside the territory of Ukraine.
However, according to sources, Western states are beginning to take a more rational approach to the issue of military assistance to the Armed Forces. On April 13, The New York Times newspaper, citing an unnamed senior Pentagon official, reported that the military aid packages announced by President Joe Biden on March 20 and April 4 will be the last supplies of ammunition to Kiev before the promised counteroffensive.
According to the NYT source, these supplies will be a "last desperate effort", since the production of ammunition in the allied countries of Ukraine does not keep pace with the pace of their consumption at the front."Ukraine has run out of Soviet-era shells, and it has mostly switched to artillery pieces and ammunition transferred by the United States and its allies," the newspaper writes.
The mentioned aid packages in the amount of $350 million and $2.6 billion include ammunition for Patriot and NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems, HIMARS and Grad multiple rocket launchers, shells for 155 and 105 mm artillery guns, mortar rounds, 120 and 105 mm tank shells, as well as 23 million rounds of ammunition for firearms.
On April 19, the Deputy head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Anna Malyar, reported that the AFU launched a counteroffensive in four directions, also continuing the fighting in Bakhmut.
Peter Nikolaev