US Sending $725 Million More in Weapons to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with the U.S. secretary of state in Kyiv on Sept. 8, 2022. Genya Savilov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Department of Defense (DOD) has announced that the United States will provide $725 million in additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s “critical security and defense needs” as it battles a Russian invasion.

“This authorization is the Biden Administration’s 23rd drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. The United States has delivered unprecedented security assistance to Ukraine and will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure Ukraine has the support it needs,” the DOD said in an Oct. 14 statement.

As part of the assistance, the United States will hand over 23,000 155-millimeter (mm) artillery rounds, 5,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems, 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds, and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

Ukraine will also receive 5,000 anti-tank weapons, more than 200 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs), small arms and more than 2 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and medical supplies.

Since January 2021, the United States has committed more than $18.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, of which $17.6 billion was spent after Russia invaded the country in late February. Since 2014, the United States has spent more than $20.3 billion on Ukraine’s security.

The DOD announcement follows Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s meeting with defense ministers from almost 50 nations at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group last week in which the leaders committed to providing the war-torn country with necessary security assistance.

Spain has committed to offering four HAWK launchers to boost Ukraine’s air defense while Germany has delivered the first of four IRIS-T air-defense systems it has promised to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s Cost of War, NATO Application

During the recent Second Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support to Ukraine in Washington, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Ukrainian authorities for having done “an impressive job” in managing the country’s economy at a difficult time.

Ukraine’s financing needs are expected to remain strong throughout the year.

“The external financing requirement will remain large as long as the war is ongoing. Our current thinking is that the financing requirements will be around US$3–US$4 billion per month in 2023,” Georgieva said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to international donors for more contributions. The country is in need of roughly $38 billion to $55 billion to cover the estimated budget deficit next year.

Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Alexander Venediktov has warned that admitting Ukraine into NATO could trigger a third world war.

On Sept. 30, Zelensky announced that his country has applied to join the NATO military alliance. The application came after Russia annexed the four partially occupied Ukraine regions of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhya.