New US military aid package to include HIMARS and Javelin – AP

HIMARS. Stock photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The Pentagon is preparing a new defence aid package for Ukraine worth at least US$275 million. The package will include HIMARS artillery missile systems and Javelin anti-armour munitions.

Source: The Associated Press, citing US officials

Details: The newspaper notes that the administration of current US President Joe Biden is rushing to do everything possible to help Kyiv push back against Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

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Quote from the AP: “The latest tranche of weapons comes as worries grow about an escalation in the conflict, with both sides pushing to gain any advantage that they can exploit if Trump demands a quick end to the war – as he has vowed to do.”

Details: According to US officials, the weapons in the new aid package for Ukraine include air defence equipment, including HIMARS artillery missile systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, Javelin anti-armour weapons, and other equipment and spare parts.

The weapons will be provided under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows the Pentagon to rapidly withdraw stockpiles from its warehouses to speed their delivery to the front lines in Ukraine.

The publication adds that the Biden administration will have to urgently allocate US$7.1 billion in arms from Pentagon warehouses in order to spend the money before Trump is sworn in.

Asked if the department would be able to do so before Trump takes office on 20 January, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said officials are working to get Ukraine what it needs.

In addition, the US State Department said on Tuesday that it had authorised the sale of unspecified defence equipment and services to Ukraine worth US$100 million, including vehicle repairs, technical assistance, training and “other related elements of logistics and programme support”. Unlike assistance under the PDA, the Ukrainian government will pay for this.

According to two senior administration officials, the administration plans to distribute its share of a US$50 billion loan from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets before Biden leaves the White House as part of a broader effort to support Ukraine.

The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said that the US and Ukraine are now at an “advanced stage” of discussing the terms of the loan and are seeking to complete the process of disbursing the US$20 billion portion of the US-backed loan.

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