On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced a new $1 billion arms package to fuel the proxy war in Ukraine after President Biden signed a $95 billion foreign military aid bill into law.
The huge package includes air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, HIMARS ammunition, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, small arms and ammunition, and other types of equipment. The US will be sending another batch of widely banned cluster bombs in the form of 155mm artillery shells (Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions), which are notorious for killing and maiming civilians.
The $95 billion bill Biden signed into law includes $61 billion in spending on the proxy war. The new US aid is not expected to help Ukraine’s chances of winning, but it ensures that the war will continue.
According to the Pentagon, the full contents of the package include:
- RIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles for air defense
- Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
- Small arms and additional rounds of small arms ammunition, including .50 caliber rounds to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
- 155mm artillery rounds, including High Explosive and Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions rounds
- 105mm artillery rounds
- 60mm mortar rounds
- Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
- Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs)
- High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs)
- Logistics support vehicles
- Tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment
- Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
- Precision aerial munitions
- Airfield support equipment
- Anti-armor mines
- Claymore anti-personnel munitions
- Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing
- Night vision devices
- Spare parts, field equipment, training munitions, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment
The Pentagon also released a fact sheet that said since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with $44.2 billion in military equipment alone. The new $61 billion bill brings total spending on the proxy war, which includes economic aid and money for the Pentagon, to about $186 billion.
