US readies $1bn military aid package for Ukraine — Reports

HIMARS

According to Reuters, the US is preparing a new $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which will include long-range weapon munitions and armored medical transport vehicles.

The package would be one of the largest so far and is expected to be announced as soon as Monday, according to three sources briefed on the matter.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the US has provided around $8.8 billion in assistance.

President Joe Biden has not yet signed the next weapons package, according to the officials who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity. They also advised that weapons packages can change in value and substance before they are signed.

However, if it were signed in its present form, it would be worth $1 billion and include 50 M113 armoured medical vehicles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).

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Ukrainians will be permitted to obtain medical care at a US military hospital in Germany close to Ramstein Air Base, according to a recent Pentagon announcement.

Last Monday, the Pentagon revealed a new security aid package for Ukraine worth up to $550 million, which includes extra HIMARS ammo.

Regarding the package, the White House chose not to comment.

HIMARS play an important part in the struggle between Ukraine and Russia, which has settled into an attritional war waged mostly in Ukraine’s east and south.

Moscow is attempting to retake control of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, which includes the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, where pro-Moscow insurgents gained territory after the Kremlin grabbed Crimea to the south in 2014.

The US has so far sent 16 HIMARS to Ukraine and announced on July 1 that it will also send two NASAMS.

The armoured personnel carriers with medical equipment may help Ukrainian forces survive the conflict with Russia so that they could be taken to Germany for additional medical care.

In June, the Kyiv government claimed that daily battlefield deaths among Ukrainian soldiers ranged from 100 to 200.

 

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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