The United States is sending two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four additional anti-aircraft radars and up to 150,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of the latest weapons packages for Ukraine, the Pentagon said Friday. The aid package, worth about $820 million, was broadly announced by US President Joe Biden on Thursday in Madrid after a meeting of NATO leaders focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Ukrainians continue to face a brutality highlighted once again this week by an attack that hit a shopping mall full of civilians. They continue to fight for their country, and the United States continues to stand by them and their just cause,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement about the aid. Ukrainian officials said a Kh-22 missile fired from a Russian bomber hit a busy shopping center in the central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, killing at least 19 people. That strike drew condemnation from Western leaders and the Pope, but Russia rejected Ukraine’s account, saying the missile hit a Western-supplied weapons store next to the mall, causing it to catch fire. At least 20 killed by rockets that hit apartment building in Odessa, amid calls for Moscow to be labeled a state sponsor of terrorism The Pentagon offered more details on Friday as it formalized the announcement, and said the latest round of security assistance also included additional munitions for High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS). The anti-aircraft radars being sent are Raytheon-Technologies AN/TPQ-37 systems, a senior defense official told reporters. This is the first time these systems have been sent to Ukraine, which have about three times the effective range of previously sent AN/TPQ-36 systems. The new US aid is meant to bolster Ukraine as it faces a heavy pounding from Russian artillery. Russia’s stepped-up campaign of long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian cities comes as its forces have scored a battlefield success in the east, with a relentless offensive to force Kyiv to cede two provinces to separatists. Including the latest rounds of aid, the United States has now committed about $6.9 billion since Russian forces entered Ukraine on February 24 and brought full-scale war to Europe. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
