The United States will supply up to $300 million in military equipment to Ukraine, the Pentagon announced on Friday (April 1). But as pointed out by Washington Postthe nature of this new envelope shows that “Assistance to Ukraine has evolved” after several weeks of fighting with Russian forces.
“The United States and its partners know more about Moscow’s offensive tactics and Ukrainian capabilities”explains the American daily, recalling that the total aid to which the Pentagon has committed since the beginning of the conflict now amounts to more than 1.6 billion dollars.
The new aid program will include light Puma drones, “which can fly for about two hours”drones “suicide bombers” Switchblade, which project at targets, machine guns “which are not regularly used by the US military”as well as light armored Humvees.
The Pentagon’s announcement comes as Britain’s defense minister this week explained to the press that the UK and its partners had agreed “to send Ukraine more lethal aid”including long-range artillery “to counter the siege of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army”, remind him Washington Post.
Transfers of Soviet-built tanks
According to New York Timesthe government of Joe Biden has also planned to “transferring Soviet-built tanks to strengthen Ukrainian defenses in the Donbass region”. It would be the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that Washington “help transfer tanks”, underlines the American daily.
These transfers must begin “shortly”, but the Pentagon did not specify how many tanks would be transferred or which country would supply them, the Pentagon continued. New York Times.
The increase in power of Western military aid is in any case insistently requested by the Ukrainian government. This Saturday, April 2, one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak, asked the United States and its allies “to provide heavier weapons” to Ukraine, reports CNN.
According to Podolyak, “afollowing the rapid withdrawal of the Russians from kyiv”, it is clear that Moscow “prioritized another tactic”:
“Moving east and south, controlling vast occupied territories – not only in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and gaining a firm foothold there. […] So we absolutely cannot do without heavy weapons if we want to unblock the east and Kherson and return [les] Russians as far as possible.”