US sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine as conflict intensifies, say officials

As attacks in the conflict intensified to include strikes in Moscow and Crimea, US officials announced Monday that the Biden administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defence systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones. The package includes a variety of ammunition, including Stingers, Javelins, and missiles for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), according to the The Associated Press The Pentagon can quickly pull goods from its own stocks and transport them to Ukraine, frequently within days, thanks to the presidential drawdown authority that is enabling the provision of the weaponry. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, the US has sent more than $30 billion worth of gear to Ukraine. This is the 33rd time the Biden administration has invoked the drawdown authority for Ukraine. Officials said the US is also sending howitzer artillery rounds and 32 Stryker armored vehicles, along with demolition equipment, mortars, Hydra-70 rockets and 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition. The Hornets are tiny nano-drones that are used largely for intelligence gathering. Ukraine has also gotten them in the past from other Western allies. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid package has not yet been announced. Overall the US has provided more than $41 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. The latest package of weapons comes as a Ukrainian drone struck an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea and Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow. Russian media reported that one of the drones fell near the city center, not far from the towering Defense Ministry building. Ukrainian authorities didn’t immediately claim responsibility for the strike, which was the second drone attack on the Russian capital this month. Russia’s military, meanwhile, unleashed new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine with exploding drones. The strike was the latest in a barrage of attacks that has damaged portions of the port in the past week. The Kremlin has described the strikes as retribution for last week’s Ukrainian strike on the crucial Kerch Bridge linking Russia with Crimea. With inputs from agencies