U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine with military support in order to defeat Russia. This was announced by the Pentagon on Thursday after a meeting between Austin and Zelensky.
Austin highlighted “his personal commitment and involvement and working with international leaders on that front,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Rydersaid. “There was also an opportunity to discuss Ukraine’s longer term capability requirements and how to support them in the future in terms of deterring Russia,” says the statement.
Ryder highlighted that Poland has been one of the leading countries when it comes to providing military assistance to Ukraine, in spite of the recent threat from Poland to end it’s support for Ukraine due to the grain deal.
Pentagon admits in its press release that some surveys show a softening of support for arming Ukraine in the general American public.
In another press release from the 21:th of September the Department of Defense communicates that the U.S. will send an additional weapons assistance package to meet Ukraine’s critical needs. “This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-seventh tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021”.
The capabilities in this package is valued at up to $325 million.
The package will include AIM-9M missiles for air defense, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Avenger air defense systems, 50 caliber machine guns, artillery rounds, including DPICM, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems and much more.
Sources
- Pentagon (DoD): Austin Assures Zelenskyy of American Support for Ukraine
- Pentagon (DoD): Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine