Patriot missiles and upgraded Hawk launchers are apparently part of the upcoming weaponry package.
According to Bloomberg News, the Pentagon is about to announce an additional $2 billion in military assistance for Ukraine in an effort to strengthen the nation’s air defenses as Kiev launches its highly publicized counteroffensive against Russian soldiers.
According to the outlet on Thursday, who cited anonymous US officials, the announcement will probably happen later this week. The armaments will be sent under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which has given Kiev billions of dollars’ worth of American munitions since hostilities with Moscow broke out last year.
The Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) and the Patriot Advanced Capability Missile-3 (PAC-3) will both be part of the new aid package. The latter ammunition, made by Raytheon, reportedly offers “improved capability to defeat tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or enemy aircraft in complement to the PAC-3 missile,” according to the US arms manufacturer.
Additionally, it is said that Washington will supply MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers, an outdated weapon whose initial iteration entered service in 1960. The platform was supposed to be given, according to officials, last November, but they later added that it would need to be renovated and repaired using money from the USAI project.
The most recent military support comes after Kiev launched a number of significant attacks against Russian forces over the past few days. Kiev officials, however, are adamant that the actual “counteroffensive” operation has not yet begun. According to Aleksey Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, “When we start the counteroffensive, everyone will know about it, they will see it.”
While Kiev would have preferred to have more Western weapons, Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, indicated earlier this month that the military was prepared to launch an attack and that “we can’t wait for months.” He has already issued a warning that the nation’s air defenses are insufficient to thwart Russian attacks and called for more Patriot launchers.
Moscow has frequently denounced the foreign military assistance sent to Kiev, claiming that the armaments will simply serve to prolong the conflict and have no effect on its goals. The nonstop influx of armaments, intelligence support, training, and other aid has led the Kremlin to claim that Western sponsors of Ukraine are in fact parties to the fight.
