Washington: A new US military aid package for Ukraine that is expected to be announced this week will total up to $300 million and will include additional munitions for drones, US officials said May 30. The drone ammunition comes after new attacks by unmanned aircraft targeted Moscow.
There has been no suggestion that US-made drones or munitions were used in the recent attacks on Moscow, and US officials have repeatedly said that Ukraine has agreed not to use any American-provided weapons for attacks on Russian soil. The Kremlin blamed Kyiv for attack, but Ukrainian officials had no direct comment.
The attack lasted more than five hours, with air defence reportedly shooting down more than 40 drones.
But the new aid package comes at a tense moment in the war. The latest drone attack on Moscow follows Russia’s seizure of the eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people. Ukraine is also showing signs that its long-awaited spring counteroffensive may already be underway.
The Russian Defence Ministry said five drones were shot down in Moscow and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. President Vladimir Putin called it a “terrorist” act by Kyiv.
A US defence official said the drone strikes would not affect the weapons aid packages the US is providing Ukraine, to include drone ammunition. The official said the US has committed to supporting Ukraine in its effort to defend the country and Ukraine had committed to not using the systems inside Russia, so the aid would likely continue unchanged.
All of the US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the latest aid package has not yet been publicly announced. US officials did not provide details on the drone munitions in the new aid package or specify which unmanned aircraft would use them. The Defence Department has given Ukraine a variety of unmanned aircraft over the last year, for both surveillance and attacks, including at least two versions of the Switchblade, a so-called kamikaze drone that can loiter in the air and then explode into a target. Other more sophisticated drones can drop munitions, but the US has been reluctant to publicly share details about those.
Also included in the newest package will be munitions for Patriot missile batteries and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Stinger missiles for the Avenger system, mine-clearing equipment, anti-armour rounds, unguided Zuni aircraft rockets, night vision goggles, and about 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition, said the US officials.
