The new package will come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which sees the United States secure the weaponry and training from partners and companies rather than from presidential drawdowns that take from U.S. stockpiles.
"This $600 million package includes equipment to augment Ukraine's air defenses, artillery munitions and other capabilities," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a Wednesday press conference.
A list from the Pentagon shows the package includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 105mm artillery rounds, electronic and counter-electronic warfare equipment, demolition munitions, mine-clearing equipment and unspecified equipment to "sustain and integrate" Kyiv's air defense systems.
Support and equipment for training, maintenance and sustainment activities were also included, it said.
"This USAI package highlights the continued U.S. commitment to meeting Ukraine's pressing requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities, while also building the enduring capacity of Ukraine's Armed Forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the mid and long term," the Pentagon said in a statement.
The package lifts the United States' security assistance commitment to Ukraine to $43.7 billion amid the war, which Russia launched Feb. 24, 2022, when it invaded its neighbor and former Soviet nation.
The announcement was made as Ukraine continues with its slow-moving counteroffensive to retake land seized by Russia and a day after Blinken visited the war-torn country in a show of support.
Blinken's announced commitment included $175 million in weaponry that will come from the president's drawdown authority and includes controversial 120mm depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks that U.S. officials expect to reach the battlefield this fall.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, as well as the Russian Embassy in Washington, has criticized the commitment of depleted uranium munitions to Kyiv as "a clear sign of inhumanity" and a threat to future generations.
In response, Singh told reporters Thursday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found no evidence that the depleted uranium rounds cause cancer and the World Health Organization states there has been no increase of leukemia or other cancers following any exposure to uranium or depleted uranium.
"They're meant to pierce tanks, and they ... will be used very effectively on the battlefield," she said, while describing them as "standard issued rounds."
"These are what these Abrams tanks will use, and many militaries across the world use depleted uranium in their tanks," she said.
"So, we feel that these will be the most effective rounds to counter Russian tanks, and will help the Ukrainians to defend their territory."
Russian strikes kill four, injure dozens in Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Sept 8, 2023 -
Ukraine on Friday said four people were killed and dozens injured as Russia launched a new wave of air strikes in the centre and east of the country.
"A Russian aerial bomb killed three civilians in Odradokamyanka -- two women and a man. Four local residents were injured," Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said, calling the strike in the southern region of Kherson a "war crime".
Odradokamyanka is about 60 kilometres (about 40 miles) upstream of Kherson city and lies on the west bank of the Dnipro river.
In the central city of Kryvyi Rig, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, a missile attack on a police building killed a policeman, Klymenko had said earlier.
"Rescuers of the State Emergency Service pulled out three more from under the rubble. They are in serious condition," he said.
Photos he shared from the scene showed smoke spewing from the ruins of the building as rescue workers carried an injured person to an ambulance.
Over 40 people were injured in the city, local officials said.
At least three people were injured after Russia also struck the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine, officials said, while one man was injured by a rocket attack on Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.
"Over the past 24 hours, 93 enemy attacks on 29 towns and villages of the Zaporizhzhia region have been recorded," said Yuriy Malashko, head of the local administration.
First Leopard 1 tanks arrive in Ukraine: Denmark
Copenhagen (AFP) Sept 8, 2023 -
The first 10 Leopard 1 tanks donated by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands have arrived in Ukraine and more are on their way, Denmark's armed forces said on Friday.
The three countries announced in February that they would donate 100 of the German-made tanks in the "coming months".
"The first 10 tanks have been sent to Ukraine. And more are on the way," the Danish armed forces said in a statement.
"A further 10 tanks have been delivered from the factory."
Danish troops in Germany are training Ukrainian forces to use the vehicles, the army added.
"I have no doubt that it will help them win the defence battle they are fighting right now," Army commander Gunner Arpe Nielsen said in the statement.
Denmark's Leopard 1 A5 tanks were operational in its defence until 2005. In 1997, the country purchased 51 Leopard 2A4 tanks and the older Leopard 1 A5 models were phased out.
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