Friday, January 6, 2023 | 11:17 a.m.
Ukrainian soldiers launch a drone at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. / Photo: AP
Ukrainian soldiers launch a drone at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. / Photo: AP
The United States is sending Ukraine about $3 billion in military aid in a massive new package that will include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles for the first time, US officials said Thursday. This is the latest move by the Joe Biden administration to send increasingly deadly and powerful weapons to help Ukraine fight Russian forces.
The aid — amounting to about $2.85 billion — is the largest in a series of packages of military equipment the Pentagon has drawn from its reserves to send to Ukraine. This is intended to get as many as possible to the Ukrainian forces during the winter months, before spring arrives and the expected increase in fighting begins.
A formal announcement was expected on Friday, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because details of the package have not been publicly announced.
Bradleys are medium armored fighting vehicles that can serve as a fortified troop transport on the battlefield. It has tracks instead of wheels, but is lighter and more agile than a tank. It is capable of carrying around 10 people and is considered a crucial means of transporting soldiers safely to battle zones.
The aid package also includes off-road vehicles, explosive-resistant ambush protection vehicles, and a host of missiles and other munitions.
The aid was announced on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic visit to Washington last month, when he secretly left his war-torn nation for the first time to thank the United States and forecast that 2023 would be a “tipping point.” in the conflict.
Calling for more support for his country’s war defense, Zelenskyy told the US Congress that “your money is not charity” but “an investment in global security and democracy that we manage in the most responsible way.”
