US preparing $372m weapons package for Ukraine, say officials

WASHINGTON – The US is preparing a US$275 million (S$372 million) military aid package for Ukraine, which will include 155mm artillery shells, precision aerial munitions and ground vehicles, three US officials told Reuters on May 23.

This comes as Ukraine said its forces have stopped Russia from advancing further into the north-eastern Kharkiv region and are now counter-attacking.

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the region’s capital on May 24 to discuss the battle for Vovchansk, a town that sits less than 5km from the border.

“The Ukrainian Defence Forces have stopped Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector... The situation is under control, counter-offensive actions are under way,” the Ukrainian army said.

Moscow’s forces have

hammered Kharkiv

for months and launched a ground assault into the north of the surrounding region on May 10, an offensive that Kyiv says has stalled on two lines of attack for now.

The weapons aid, which could be announced as soon as May 24, will utilise presidential drawdown authority – which authorises the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without specific congressional approval during an emergency.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

As a part of the US$95 billion aid Bills, Congress authorised US$60.8 billion worth of various forms of aid to Ukraine, including US$8 billion worth of presidential drawdown authority items.

While the package mainly includes munitions, it also has vehicles that are designed to recover disabled tanks and other heavy equipment from the battlefield, a sign that the US expects attacks and equipment losses to continue. Military analysts expected a boost in the order backlog of RTX, along with other major companies that receive government contracts, such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, following passage of the supplemental spending Bill. REUTERS