The US will supply Ukraine with HIMARS missile systems.
US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a new arms package for Ukraine worth up to $400 million, including four additional High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) and more ammunition.
New US aid aims to bolster Ukraine as it faces heavy Russian artillery fire.
Since the February 24 invasion, Russian forces have taken control of large swathes of territory across Ukraine’s southern flank over Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russia is slowly pushing Ukrainian forces out of two rebel-held regions of Ukraine eastern supported by Russia, which has recognized them as independent states.
A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the additional HIMARS systems would bring the total number of such systems to 12.
“Ukraine has now successfully hit Russian positions in Ukraine, deeper behind the front lines and disrupting Russia’s ability to conduct that artillery operation,” the official said.
The official added that all HIMARS donated to Ukraine were accounted for after Russia’s Defense Ministry said earlier this week it had destroyed two HIMARS systems and their ammunition depots in eastern Ukraine.
