Washington back-stops Ukraine’s counteroffensive with another $325 million in weapons; longer-range missiles on the table
(Originally published June 14 in “What in the World“) Russia’s air force and artillery counterattacked Ukraine’s counterattacking forces in western Donetsk province.
As they advance across Russian lines, Ukrainian forces are losing the protection of air-defense systems, which allows Russian jets to re-enter the conflict. To buttress that air-defense system, the U.S. on Tuesday announced a fresh, $325 million in weapons from the Pentagon’s arsenal to Ukraine that includes more rockets for Kyiv’s Nasams anti-missile launchers, its Himars offensive rocket launchers and more Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles to replace those destroyed in the latest counteroffensive.
The new weapons package comes just days after last week’s announcement of a new, $2.1 billion in additional funding for Ukraine to buy U.S. weapons and brings to $39 billion the amount of military aid the U.S. has given Ukraine since Russia invaded (full inventory below).
The U.S. House Armed Services Committee’s Republican chairman, Mike Rogers of Alabama, is seeking to add a requirement to the 2024 defense budget bill that the Pentagon supply Ukraine with Lockheed Martin’s long-range Atacms. So far, Atacms are one of just two weapons (the other being attack drones) left that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested and U.S. President Joe Biden still refuses to give him. Everything else, from Stingers to howitzers, Himars to Patriots, Abrams tanks to F-16s, Biden has in the past year given in on.
Atacms, which could be fired from Ukraine’s U.S.-supplied Himars (wheeled rocket launching vehicles) or its Mlrs (tracked rocket launching vehicles), could hit targets 300km away. Ukraine’s current Himars carry missiles that can only fire 80-100km. The U.S. would also presumably need to remove whatever jury-rigging they reportedly used to prevent the Himars it supplied Ukraine from firing Atacms given it on the sly by one of the many U.S. allies who have them.