The United States says it will send two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four anti-aircraft radars and about 150,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion. The Pentagon said on Friday that the additional hardware would come as part of the latest US aid package for Ukraine, announced by US President Joe Biden at a gathering of NATO leaders and expected to total about $820 million. The package announced Thursday will also include more munitions for High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS). The US hopes its latest aid will bolster Ukrainian resistance as Russia pushes forward a campaign of long-range missile attacks that have rocked Ukrainian cities and a series of Russian ground successes in eastern Ukraine. Russia has made the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk the focus of its offensive, hoping to force Kyiv to abandon its hopes of wresting their control from Russia. US military support brings its total contribution to the Ukrainian war effort to nearly $7 billion since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, causing large-scale death and displacement in Ukraine and destabilizing global markets and supply chains supply. “We will support Ukraine as long as necessary,” US President Joe Biden said this week at a press conference during the NATO summit in Madrid. The US is giving the Ukrainians “the capability” so they “can continue to resist Russian aggression,” Biden said. “And so I don’t know how it’s going to end, but it’s not going to end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude. “I am especially grateful today to the United States and to Biden personally for the package of support for Ukraine announced today, which includes a very powerful NASAMS – an anti-aircraft missile system that will significantly strengthen our air defenses. We have worked hard for these supplies,” Zelensky said late Friday in his nightly video address. Much of the aid officially announced Friday will take weeks or months to reach Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. While the US remains the largest contributor to the Ukrainian war effort, other countries have also stepped up aid. Turkey has armed Ukraine with Bayraktar TB2 combat drones. The UK has committed more than half a billion dollars in support, including armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles, air defense systems, missiles and explosives. Canada has also given more than $200 million worth of supplies since February. Ukraine has also received aid from countries such as Spain, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, as well as several of its neighbours, including Poland and Slovakia.
