Two U.S. officials stated on Thursday that about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be included in a new U.S. arms package for Ukraine. Another official said the package will cost approximately $2.8 billion.
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, stated Wednesday that the sending of Bradleys, an American Army staple to Ukraine, was being considered in order to fight Russia’s invasion. Russia’s ambassador charged the United States with plotting a dangerous course.
According to officials, the most recent security package for Ukraine was expected to be released on Friday.
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A total of $2.8 billion was spent on the package. Around $800 million was raised from Foreign Military Financing in order to assist Ukraine with purchasing weapons. The rest of the funds came out of the Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine (PDA), which allows the United States quickly to transfer defense articles, such as Humvees, trucks, and munitions, from stocks without Congress approval. This is in response to an emergency.
The U.S. Army uses the armored vehicle with a powerful weapon, manufactured by BAE Systems Plc . It has been used to transport troops on battlefields since the mid-1980s.
The Army owns thousands of Bradleys which could give the Ukrainians greater firepower on the battlefield. Biden’s move does not include sending Abrams tanks over to Ukraine as requested by the Ukrainians.
The U.S. Congress was informed late last month by Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the hundreds of billions of dollar of aid it approved to Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion wasn’t charity, but an investment for global security.
As Europe’s worst land conflict since 1945 continues, the United States sent Kyiv $21.3 billion worth of security assistance. This has resulted in the deaths of tens to thousands.
The exact size of Friday’s security aid package is not yet known. The White House declined to comment.
Russia’s ambassador in Washington claimed that Bradley’s “decision” was a sign that Moscow’s U.S. interlocutors had not tried to hear their many calls to Washington to account for possible consequences.
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian Ambassador, stated in comments in Russian as well as English that weapons transfers could no longer be considered defensive.
He stated that the actions taken by the administration, in comments he made as a response to media queries, “indicate an absence of any desire to reach a political solution.”
The United States has sent increasingly capable weapons to Ukraine. As the war progressed and Ukraine needed more advanced weapons systems, such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, (HIMARS), and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, (NASAMS), were shipped from the United States to Kyiv.
Recently, the United States promised to send a Patriot Missile System to Russia to repel Russian drone and missile attacks. The logistics of training and other logistical issues still have to be worked through.
The Army is working with the industry to create a replacement for its Bradley fleet.