Armoured vehicles, missiles part of US’s $500-m military aid to Ukraine

Even as Ukrainian and Western leaders are trying to deconstruct the impact of the brief weekend insurrection in Russia led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Biden Administration announced on Tuesday (June 27) that it would send up to US$ 500 million in military aid to Ukraine.

The military aid, aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s counteroffensive, will include more than 50 heavily armoured vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defence systems.

It is the 41st time since the Russian invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 that the US has provided military weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority. The programme allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine.

Also read: US, NATO had no hand in Wagner Group mutiny in Russia: Joe Biden

Since the aid packages are generally planned in advance and recently included many of the same critical weapons for the battlefront, the contents weren’t likely chosen based on the weekend rebellion by Prigozhin and the Wagner Group that he controls.

It is not clear if Ukrainian forces will be able to take advantage of the disarray in the Russian ranks, in the aftermath of the short-lived revolt. But the missiles and heavy vehicles can be used as Ukraine tries to capitalise on what has been a growing feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia’s military top brass, with simmering questions about how many of Prigozhin’s forces may leave the fight.

The Wagner Group mercenaries left Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city and moved hundreds of miles toward Moscow before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday.

The Pentagon in a statement said that the United States will send 30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 25 of the armoured Stryker vehicles to Ukraine, along with missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Patriot air defence systems. The package includes Javelin and high-speed anti-radiation (HARM) missiles, demolition munitions, obstacle-clearing equipment and a wide range of artillery rounds and other ammunition.

Also read: Despite failed rebellion, Wagner militia maintains ruthless role in Africa

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton said that the new package includes key capabilities that will support Ukraine’s counter-offensive operations and would strengthen air defences. According to the Pentagon, the US has delivered more than US$ 15 billion in weapons and equipment from its stocks to Ukraine since the Russian invasion and has committed an additional US$ 6.2 billion in supplies that haven’t yet been identified.

The more than US$ 6 billion extra is the result of an accounting error, because the military services overestimated the value of the weapons they pulled off the shelves and sent to Ukraine over the past year.

Broadly, the US has also promised to send more than US$ 16.7 billion in longer-term funding for various weapons, training and other equipment through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and an additional roughly US$ 2 billion in foreign military financing.

The US has at least US$ 1.2 billion in drawdown authority that hasn’t yet been committed but will expire at the end of this fiscal year on September 30. The remaining US$ 1.9 billion in USAI funds does not expire until the end of the next fiscal year, in September 2024.

(With agency inputs)