After U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defense released a list of its contents. In an official statement by John Kerry, it included 72 howitzers with 144,000 artillery rounds, in addition to 121 tactical drones of the "Phoenix Ghost" type. U.S. defense officials revealed in a call with reporters this morning that the Phoenix Ghost drones were developed by U.S. forces at the request of the Ukrainians, with production completed in just a few weeks. They added that these are suicide drones that explode on their targets, similar to Switchblade drones. They also disclosed that the new howitzers provided to Ukraine comprise 5 artillery battalions (72 guns and 144,000 rounds).
They stated that the aid announced by the U.S. president today would begin arriving at the operational theater within 24 hours. U.S. officials confirmed that the weapons are being delivered to the Ukrainians who are utilizing them. A senior U.S. official mentioned that U.S. Stinger missiles do not have tracking devices to ensure they remain in the hands of Ukrainian forces and not third parties, addressing concerns of these missiles falling into the hands of terrorists. The official indicated that the Ukrainians currently have more armored vehicles on the battlefield than the Russian forces. He confirmed that Russian forces now have 85 battalions operating in Ukrainian territory and that Russians have introduced 3 new battalions to the battlefield in the past 24 hours. The U.S. official noted that Russian forces have launched 1,670 missiles since the start of operations, some of which came from the Black Sea.
**Changing the Balance of Power**
This comes as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that his country needs stronger aid from the West to change the balance of power to end the war in its favor. The Ukrainian Prime Minister acknowledged that U.S. assistance has helped push Putin back. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mentioned that U.S. aid to Ukraine included 150 howitzers, armored vehicles, and radars.
**New Weapons**
President Joe Biden today discussed the Russian-Ukrainian war in the context of completing a new weapons package for the Ukrainian army. An informed source indicated that Biden "is expected to speak about developments in our efforts to support Ukraine and the assistance we provide." Another U.S. official told Reuters that the new weapons package is likely to be at the same value announced last week, which is $800 million, but details are still being finalized. The president met with senior military officials at an annual meeting at the White House. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council explained that the meeting addressed a range of issues, primarily the war in Ukraine and sending more military aid to it.
The U.S. aid announced last week included systems and artillery shells, armored personnel carriers, and unmanned coastal defense boats, thereby expanding the range of materials sent to Kyiv to include new types of heavy equipment. If the size of the anticipated arms package this week is as large as expected, it would mean that U.S. military aid to Kyiv will exceed $3 billion since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this context, a senior U.S. defense official revealed that the United States sent 4 flights carrying weapons in the past 24 hours, including howitzers, and delivered a total of 40,000 artillery rounds for these guns to the Ukrainians. The official noted that the U.S. has begun training about 50 members of Ukrainian forces on using the howitzers, adding that the training is taking place outside of Ukraine and will last about a week. The official highlighted that Ukrainian forces have incorporated 20 fighter aircraft into their air force after receiving spare parts from abroad. He clarified that the Ukrainian skies are contested by Ukrainian forces and Russian aviation, which has so far avoided entering them.
