US Announces $150 Million Weapons Package for Ukraine

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

Funding for the package comes from money made available by a Pentagon ‘accounting error’ that overvalued previous weapons shipments

The Biden administration on Thursday announced a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $150 million that includes ammunition for HIMARS rockets, air defenses, artillery rounds, and other equipment.

The weapons are being provided under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the US to send weapons straight from Pentagon stockpiles. The $150 million is being pulled from funds made available by a Pentagon “accounting error” that overvalued previous weapons sent to Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said it still had $5.4 billion in drawdown funds available from the money freed up by the error. Based on the weapons packages that have been announced since then, the Pentagon has about $5 billion left to ship weapons to Ukraine until Congress authorizes more.

According to the Pentagon, the equipment in the $150 million package includes:

• Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
• AIM-9M missiles for air defense
• Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds
• Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
• Javelin anti-armor systems
• More than 2 million rounds of small arms ammunition
• Night vision devices
• Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing
• Cold weather gear
• Spare parts, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment

The Pentagon also released a fact sheet on Thursday that said the US has committed $43.9 billion in military equipment for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February of last year. Congress has authorized a total of $113 billion in spending on the war, which also includes economic aid, money for the Pentagon to replenish weapons, funding for troop deployments in Eastern Europe, and other types of spending.

President Biden has requested another $61.4 billion to spend on the proxy war as part of a $105 billion spending package that includes military aid for Israel, Taiwan, and funds for border security.