US to send Ukraine anti-drone military aid package worth US$275 million

The US is planning to send Ukraine an anti-drone military aid package that is reportedly worth US$275 million. The incoming military aid is said to offer new tools to strengthen air defences and defeat drones.

According to Reuters, and The Straits Times, the package could be officially announced today. The Pentagon is also expected to include Lockheed Martin rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) launchers in the aid package. Additionally, the Pentagon is also expected to send 155mm ammunition, Humvee military vehicles and generators. The military aid package would be covered by the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the US to transfer such defensive aid and services without congressional approval in response to an emergency situation.

The move comes after Russia’s military strategy has revealed its intentions to exhaust Ukraine’s air defence supplies to dominate the skies. The US has sent sophisticated anti-aircraft Nasams systems to Ukraine that have been operating for the past few weeks in response to the latest developments in the war. Moreover, the US has also previously announced it would send four Avenger short-range air defence systems that use Stinger missiles to Ukraine.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the US has sent around US$19.1 billion in defence aid to Ukraine, with lawmakers voting to send at least US$800 million more in 2023.

Meanwhile, European politicians appear to be catching on to the US profiteering from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As the war in Ukraine has been blamed for higher fuel costs, a rise in inflation, austerity, and an economic meltdown, the US is being accused of projecting a rosy image to the world.

European officials are furious with US President Joe Biden’s administration, accusing it of making a fortune from the Russia-Ukraine war while European Union countries suffer.

One senior official told the American, German-owned newspaper, Politico, that the “US is profiting from the war because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons.”

Those comments have been repeated throughout Europe as they accuse the US of trying to wreck the European economy and its industry.