Pentagon looks to vastly expand weapons for Ukraine
Ukrainian officials also met recently with the maker of Reaper and Predator drones, a company official said
By Dan Lamothe and Karoun Demirjian
Yesterday at 5:59 p.m. EDT
The Biden administration is poised to dramatically expand the scope of weapons it is providing Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, with the Pentagon looking to transfer armored Humvees and a range of other sophisticated equipment.
The new aid package could be worth $750 million, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity because the transfer has not yet been finalized.
Preliminary plans circulating among government officials and lawmakers in Washington also included Mi-17 helicopters, howitzer cannons, coastal defense drones and protective suits to safeguard personnel in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, the officials said, though they cautioned that it was not immediately clear if all of those items would end up in the final aid package.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment. On Tuesday night, after this article was published, another U.S. defense official said the Russian-made helicopters would not be included.
Pentagon to provide Ukraine with drones, armored vehicles and machine guns
The prospective new delivery, first reported by Reuters, comes on top of the more than $2.4 billion in U.S. security assistance provided to Ukraine since President Biden took office last year, including $1.7 billion in aid since Russia launched its invasion Feb. 24.
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/04/12/pentagon-ukraine-weapons/
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