WASHINGTON (HRNW) — The U.S. will send Ukraine about $500 million in ammunition and equipment and will spend more than $2 billion to buy an array of munitions, radar and other weapons in the future, U.S. officials said, as the Ukrainian troops prepare for a spring offensive against Russian forces.
The ammunition rounds, along with grenade launchers and vehicles, will be taken from military stockpiles so they can be in the war zone quickly, the officials said.
“We very much appreciate everything that the United States has done specifically in the last month to help our army prepare itself for the counteroffensive,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “The Biden administration has upheld its commitment to provide Ukraine with a lot of what we need and set an example to other allies.”
The $2.1 billion in longer-term aid, which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will buy missiles for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS,
as well as radar and other weapons, according to the officials,
who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been announced. An announcement is expected as soon as Tuesday.