US Announces New Package Of Military Aid To Ukraine For USD 2.2 Billion

The United States has announced a new USD 2.2 billion military aid package to Ukraine.

The representative of the U.S. Department of Defense, Brigadier General of the U.S. Air Force Patrick S. Ryder announced this at a briefing on February 3, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Today, the U.S. Department of Defense announces that it is allocating a new aid package for Ukraine worth USD 2.2 billion," he said.

Ryder said that the military assistance package includes, in particular, armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles, ammunition for the HIMARS missile systems and GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) shells with a range of up to 150 km.

According to the Pentagon spokesman, GLSDB missiles will give Ukraine the opportunity to conduct operations to return the temporarily occupied territories.

"As part of the USAI package, we will supply Ukraine with small-diameter land-based bombs. This gives them the ability to fire long distances, which will allow them to conduct operations to protect their country and return their sovereign territory in the Russian-occupied areas," Ryder said.

He made it clear that the United States does not intend to interfere in Ukraine's plans to de-occupy its territories.

Ryder stressed that the Ukrainian command must independently make decisions, what operations and where to carry out to liberate the territories from the invaders.

The new military aid package from the United States will include:

- ammunition for HIMARS;

- artillery shells of 155 mm caliber;

- 120 mm mortar shells;

- 190 heavy machine guns with thermal sights and ammunition;

- 181 armored vehicles with mine and ambush protection MRAP;

- 250 Javelins;

- 2,000 anti-tank missiles;

- Claymore anti-personnel ammunition;

- demolition ammunition;

- cold weather equipment, helmets and other field equipment.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on February 2, the Council of the European Union approved the seventh package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 500 million and agreed to allocate an additional EUR 45 million for the training of Ukrainian servicemen as part of the EU military assistance mission.