US announces new multi-billion security package for Ukraine
Washington DC - The US will supplement its aid to Ukraine with a new $2.5-billion security package including, for the first time, Stryker armored personnel carriers, but no Abrams battle tanks.
The Department of Defense said the package, the second-largest of its kind to date, includes 59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, among other things.
The announcement comes ahead of a meeting of some 50 of Ukraine's allies at the US air base in Ramstein in south-western Germany to discuss further military aid to Kyiv scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, Washington said that it did not make sense to send Abrams main battle tanks to Kiev.
"It simply does not make sense to provide this asset to the Ukrainians at this time," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters in Washington on Thursday.
The Abrams main battle tank requires different fuel than, say, German-manufactured Leopard 2 tanks or British Challenger 2 tanks and is more costly to maintain, she said.
The package will bring total US military assistance for Ukraine to some $27.5 billion since the beginning of US President Joe Biden's administration, according to the Defense Department.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Joe Biden on Twitter, adding: "Stryker IFVs, additional Bradley APCs, Avenger air defense systems are important help in our fight against the aggressor. Thank you [American] people for unwavering leadership support!"
Cover photo: REUTERS