The U.S. has approved a new $600 million weapons aid package for Ukraine, which the Pentagon said includes plans to provide more munitions, electronic warfare capabilities and “equipment to sustain and integrate Ukraine’s air defense systems.”
The new security assistance announcement includes capabilities to be procured from industry with Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds and arrives just a day after the U.S. announced a $175 million package of weapons to be pulled from current inventories and $100 million in new Foreign Military Financing funds for Ukraine “to support longer-term military requirements.”
“This USAI package highlights the continued U.S. commitment to meeting Ukraine’s pressing requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities, while also building the enduring capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the mid and long term,” the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Capabilities in the new USAI package also include ammunition for Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built HIMARS launchers, more 105mm artillery rounds, counter-EW equipment and demolition munitions and mine-clearing equipment, according to the Pentagon.
Wednesday’s $175 million Presidential Drawdown Authority package included plans to provide Ukraine with 120mm depleted uranium munitions to be fired from Abrams tanks (Defense Daily, Sept. 6).
“These are anti-tank rounds. They are meant to pierce tanks and they will be used very effectively on the battlefield. These are standard issue rounds. These are what these Abrams tanks will use. And many militaries across the world use depleted uranium in their tanks. So we feel these will be the most effective rounds to counter Russian tanks and will help Ukrainians to defend their territory,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday.
Singh was asked during a press briefing about Russian officials’ comments criticizing the U.S.’ decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium (RU) rounds citing the potential health impacts.
“I would push back on the assertion from Russian officials. Here, the CDC has stated there’s no evidence that depleted uranium rounds cause cancer. The World Health Organization reports that there’s been no increase of leukemia or other cancers that have been established following exposure to uranium or DU. And even the [International Atomic Energy Agency] has stated unequivocally that there’s no proven link between DU exposure and increases in cancers or significant health or environmental impacts. So I would push back on that,” Singh said.
Northrop Grumman [NOC] has previously announced plans to transition out of its prime contracting role for depleted uranium ammunition once it completed its final contract, with the weapon having received scrutiny due to potential long-term health effects from exposure to toxic chemical and radioactive elements (Defense Daily, Jan. 27 2022).
The Biden administration announced plans in late January to supply Ukraine with 31 Abrams tanks as part of a $400 million weapons aid package to be procured with Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds, aiming to deliver the refurbished M1A1 tanks this fall.