U.S. Giving Another $2 Billion in Military Aid to Ukraine

On February 13, 2023, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed reporters in Brussels, Belgium. Austin met with members from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, and the NATO Defense Ministerial. After that, he traveled to Estonia and Germany to meet local leaders as well as U.S. service members. (Chad J. McNeeley/Department of Defense

WASHINGTON – The United States will send another $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine that includes weapons, drones and other equipment, the Pentagon announced Friday, marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.

President Joe Biden’s administration has spent more than $32Billion on military weapons and equipment for Ukraine to defend themselves against an attack by Russia that began February 24, 2022.

“One year ago today, Russia launched an unprovoked and indefensible invasion of its peaceful and democratic neighbor Ukraine — a cruel war of choice that has killed thousands of innocent Ukrainians, forced millions more from their homes, left countless Ukrainians wounded or traumatized, and inflicted tragedy and terror on a sovereign U.N. member state,” Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary. “Today’s solemn anniversary is an opportunity for all who believe in freedom, rules, and sovereignty to recommit ourselves to supporting Ukraine’s brave defenders for the long haul — and to recall that the stakes of Russia’s war stretch far beyond Ukraine.”

According to the Defense Department, Friday’s announcement included more ammunition and artillery rounds as well as rockets for laser-guided system, communications, mine-clearing equipment, and money for maintenance and training.

The new U.S. assistance also includes several drone systems — such as the CyberLux K8, Altius-600 and Jump-20 systems – and counter-drone detection equipment. Friday marked the first appearance of the Jump, Altius, and CyberLux systems in any U.S. Security Package for Ukraine.

The CyberLux K8 is mainly a surveillance drone while the Altius-600 is an intelligence-gathering system. Jump 20 is a fixed-wing vertical take-off-and-landing drone with multiple applications including rescue and search operations.

On May 17, 2022, a member of the 33rd Special Operations Squadron JUMP20 unmanned air vehicle team went to Melrose Air Force Range (New Mexico) to retrieve an unmanned aerial vessel. The JUMP 20 UAV is a vertical takeoff-and-landing UAV that provides advanced multi-sensor intelligence and surveillance. It can be set up in under 60 minutes and made operational without any launch or recovery equipment. (Vernon Walter/U.S. Air Force

The Pentagon stated that the new aid will help Ukraine’s defenses against air attacks. It was provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This program purchases equipment from defense companies rather than pulling it out of Defense Department stocks. Items purchased through the initiative are more likely to reach Ukrainian battlefields because they are not drawn from existing stocks.

It will take the Ukrainians several months to get the 31 M1 Abrams battle tank tanks that the U.S. has promised them, as those weapons are also being procured via the initiative.

Russia President Vladimir Putin is not willing to end the conflict after a year’s worth of fighting in Ukraine. He has also suffered numerous military setbacks. Officials and experts from the West and Ukraine have stated that they expect Russia will mount more offensives against Ukraine during warmer weather.

“Putin thought that Ukraine’s defenses would collapse, that America’s resolve would falter, and that the world would look the other way,” Austin said. “He was wrong. One year later, Ukraine’s brave defenders have not wavered, and neither has our commitment to support them for as long as it takes.”

Though the United States has provided Ukraine many weapons and equipment in the past year, there are some items that the Biden administration has not committed to sending – including advanced American fighter jets, such as the Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Earlier this week, the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the U.N. estimates more than 8,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war in the past year and 13,000 more have been injured. However, some experts and officials in Ukraine have stated that the actual casualty figures are much higher.

“And our data are only the tip of the iceberg,” Türk said. “The toll on civilians is unbearable. … Nearly 18 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Some 14 million people have been displaced from their homes. … This senseless war has reverberated across the world.”

Austin warned that there might be difficult times ahead.

“Let us remain clear-eyed about what is at stake in Ukraine,” He stated. “And let us remain united in purpose and in action — and steadfast in our commitment to ensure that a world of rules and rights is not replaced by one of tyranny and turmoil.”

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