On Wednesday, Washington will announce a new $375 million military aid package to Ukraine. This is the largest aid package sent to Kyiv since May. Several American officials told Voice of America on condition of anonymity, UNN reports.
One government official told VOA that the package would likely include air-to-ground munitions for F-16 fighter jets, which would allow Ukrainian pilots to hit targets far from the front lines and Russian air defense.
The package also includes ammunition for HIMARS, patrol boats and armored vehicles, as well as 155-mm shells, 105-mm shells and TOW missiles, the official added.
The list of items is still being finalized and is subject to change, U.S. officials say. The arms are being sent under the Presidential Authorization Act, which allows the Pentagon to send Ukraine aid directly from its military stockpile.
Add
Media reports indicate that the Pentagon has more than $5 billion left of the $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was signed by President Joe Biden in April and could expire at the end of this month. The US Department of Defense says it is working with Congress to carry over the remaining funding into the next US fiscal year, which begins October 1. Officials told VOA that they are working on contingency plans if Congress does not approve it by the end of the fiscal year.
The package is expected to be announced against the backdrop of a planned meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Biden and Democratic Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Thursday at the White House. Officials say Zelenskiy will outline his "victory plan" to end the war with Russia and push for the lifting of restrictions on US-provided weapons.
Currently, U.S. policy does not allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. The White House has expressed concern that these strikes could draw the United States into direct conflict with Russia.
Earlier this month, Zelenskiy told military allies meeting in Germany that Ukraine needs long-range capabilities to strike deep inside Russian territory "so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.
The U.S. says Russia has pulled most of its aircraft and weapons out of range of Ukrainian weapons, but Ukrainian officials are still interested in targeting supply lines and command centers closer to their border.
General James Hucker, the commander of the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa, warned reporters last week that the Russian army is now bigger and stronger than it was before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Despite this, Ukraine continues to destroy important Russian military targets, having shot down more than 100 Russian aircraft. Russia, on the other hand, has been able to shoot down dozens fewer Ukrainian aircraft, Hecker said.
"So we see that the planes stay on their side of the contact line, and when that happens, you have a war that we see today, with massive attrition, with cities just collapsing and a lot of civilian casualties," he said.
The United States and Denmark are training a small number of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, but the number of qualified Ukrainian pilots and places in Western training centers are limited.