Outgoing US Administration Working on New $725-mln Military Aid Package for Kiev
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The incumbent US administration is preparing to provide Kiev with another package of US military aid worth $725 million, Reuters reported.
The news agency quoted US officials as saying that the delivery would include land mines, drones, Stinger missiles, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
The weapons and ammunition will be drawn from current US stocks, it said, TASS reported.
Besides, the Kiev government is also expected to receive cluster munitions, which are typically found in Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets fired by HIMARS launchers, the agency said.
According to the report, Congress will be formally notified about the move on December 2.
The contents and size of the package are subject to revision.
On November 20, the Pentagon confirmed that the US administration had authorized the transfer of anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine. The Department of Defense clarified that these were non-persistent mines, which become inert after a preset period of time, thus mitigating risks to civilians. On November 21, the Department suggested the possibility of new deliveries of anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine.
Earlier, The Washington Post reported that Biden authorized the delivery of antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, reversing his administration’s earlier policy that banned the transfer and use of US antipersonnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that supplying Ukraine with new weapons would not change the situation on the battlefield, but would rather protract the conflict.
