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The United States Department of Defense has unveiled a new support package for Ukraine, offering additional air defence, rocket and anti-tank munitions. It represents the United States’ 73rd batch of military equipment for Ukraine since August 2021.
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The Pentagon has this week (30 December) unveiled a new support package for Ukraine, including a Presidential Drawdown Authority package worth an estimated US$1.25 billion, as well as a US$1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance initiative package.
Presidential Drawdown Authority packages are delivered from Department of Defense stocks in the event of an emergency, the State Department has confirmed.
The Department of Defense has outlined that the package includes:
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National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems munitions.
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HAWK air defence munitions.
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Stinger missiles.
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Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems munitions.
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High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems munitions.
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155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition.
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Air-to-ground munitions.
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High-speed anti-radiation missiles.
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Unmanned aerial systems;.
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Javelin and AT-4 anti-armour systems.
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Small arms, ammunition and grenades.
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Communications equipment.
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Commercial satellite imagery services.
The package also includes an array of maintenance equipment, clothing and medical equipment.
The latest round of support for Ukraine represents the US government’s 23rd Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package and 73rd round of equipment since August 2021.
The announcement comes as Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles ruled out Australian troops being deployed to Ukraine as peacekeepers.
In mid-December, the Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong recently travelled to the United Kingdom to attend the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN).
The meeting is the first AUKMIN following the election of the UK’s Starmer government, after Australia hosted AUKMIN in Adelaide earlier this year.
“Our focus right now is on supporting Ukraine now, such that it can resolve this conflict on its terms,” Deputy PM Marles said during a press conference held in London on 17 December.
The comments followed reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian government was open to potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security
In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron has previously expressed the idea of having Western troops on the ground in Ukraine. Germany and Poland have both ruled out sending troops to Ukraine.
