Ukraine is set to receive a new aid package from the United States
With 23 days to go before Russia's war with Ukraine reaches its first anniversary, Kiev is insisting to the West that aid packages need to be sent as soon as possible. Ukraine's main ally in the fight against Russia, the United States, has again approved yet another aid package. This time, worth $2 billion, the military aid consists of longer-range rockets for the first time, as well as other ammunition and weapons, two US officials briefed on the matter told Reuters news agency. It is also expected to include support equipment for Patriot air defence systems, precision-guided munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, they added.
Funding for the new package comes 86.5% from a fund known as the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). This fund is a US Department of Defense-led funding programme to increase Ukraine's ability to defend itself more effectively against Russian aggression through additional training of its armed forces, equipment and advisory initiatives. In total, the US has sent approximately $27.2 billion in assistance to Ukraine since the conflict began (an average of $80 million per day). The USAI funds would go towards the purchase of a new weapon, the Boeing Co. small-diameter ground-launched bomb, which has a range of 150 km.
The US has rejected Ukraine's requests for the 297-km-range ATACMS missile. The longer range of the GLSDB glide bomb could allow Ukraine to reach targets that have previously been out of range, allowing them to further disrupt Russian attack lines. The weapon was announced in November and is expected to reach its destination in the spring. In 2022, SAGU was established as a point of contact. By 21 July 2022, the EUCOM-Ukraine Control Centre/International Donor Coordination Centre (ECCU/IDCC), a joint cell formed in March 2022, had trained 1,500 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on coalition-donated equipment.
By 4 November 2022, the Ukrainian Contact Group's equipment shipments and training efforts had become sufficiently repeatable to be systematised into a Ukrainian Security Assistance Group (SAGU), based in Wiesbaden, Germany. In addition to USAI funds, more than $400 million in assistance was expected to come from Presidential Withdrawal Authority funds, which allow the president to draw from current US stockpiles in case of emergency. USAI funds would also be used to pay for more HAWK air defence components, PUMA drones, communications equipment and anti-aircraft radars.
US support for Ukraine goes beyond military or economic support. Since the war began, US intelligence services have provided Kiev with key information that has, at times, led to major attacks on Russian positions. However, Moscow is urging Washington of possible consequences if they do not withdraw; the Americans in turn are calling on Putin to stop the conflict. Russia warns that sending longer-range US missiles to Ukraine will "escalate" the conflict, but will not change its course. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was referring to reports of a new US military aid package to Kiev, which Reuters reported could include missiles with a range of 150 kilometres.
Ukraine can no longer waste time. For 343 days now, Ukrainian citizens have been suffering under Putin's unconscionable attacks. The war has already caused tremendous damage to Ukraine and also huge economic losses for Europe, and of all kinds for Russia. Despite Western support for Ukraine, nine sets of EU sanctions of unprecedented harshness, and particularly the support of the US, which is financially and materially sustaining the war, Russia has held its own, and has done better than expected. Despite repeated military defeats, the Russian army maintains sufficient operational capacity to react.
While not all states have the "infinite and endless" capacity of the United States to help, the West is unwavering in its support in whatever way it can. Japan is a case in point. This year, in which it chairs the G7, Japan will host a meeting on 24 February to try to unify efforts to make them more effective in their implementation. Another example is the Czech Republic, which has reduced its dependence on Russian gas by 95% in the last eight months thanks to imports from Norway and liquefied natural gas from overseas via the Netherlands, according to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. According to local media reports on Wednesday, Fiala explained that "we were almost 100% dependent on Russian gas and today the situation is completely different".
America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.
