The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine on 6 December 2023 that includes additional air defence capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment to help Ukraine continue to stem the Russian invasion.
The package, valued at up to USD 175 M (EUR 163 M), is the Biden Administration’s 52nd tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
More specifically, the capabilities in this package include: AIM-9M and AIM-7 missiles for air defence; additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds; High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armour systems; more than four million rounds of small arms ammunition; vehicles to tow and haul equipment; demolition munitions for obstacle clearing; equipment to protect critical national infrastructure; and spare parts, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment.
However, while this latest package utilises assistance previously authorised for Ukraine during prior fiscal years under Presidential Drawdown Authority, on the day it was announced the Biden Administration failed to secure further funding for Ukraine.
Republican senators rejected a USD 106 Bn National Security Supplemental Request that including USD 61 Bn for Ukraine and USD 14 Bn for Israel because it did not contain measures to strengthen US immigration controls.
Prior to the bill’s rejection President Joe Biden had said at the White House, “Make no mistake, today’s vote is going to be long remembered. History is going to judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom’s cause. We can’t let Putin win.”
With the bill going nowhere, Biden warned that US funding for Ukraine would run out by the end of the year.
The US DoD, meanwhile, had stated in its 6 December security assistance package announcement, “US leadership is central to sustaining the global coalition that has enabled Ukraine’s courageous forces to successfully defend its sovereignty and independence and take back more than half of the territory seized by Russian invaders. It is critical that Congress takes action soon and passes the President’s national security supplemental request to ensure we can continue our support for Ukraine.”
