US will send artillery, rockets and ammunition in $1bn arms package to Ukraine

The arms package is the 12th such tranche of assistance sent to Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion in 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Kyiv on 15 May (AFP or licensors)

The US government has unveiled a $1bn arms package for Ukraine which will include additional 155mm artillery pieces and 36,000 rounds of ammunition to go with them along with more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and a pair of Harpoon anti-ship missile systems for coastal defence purposes.

Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defence J. Todd Breasseale announced the security assistance package in a statement released by the Defence Department on Wednesday.

He said the package consists of $350m in arms delivered under President Biden’s authority to draw on existing US arms stocks for aid purposes. It also includes $650m in funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to purchase arms from manufacturers and deliver them directly to Ukraine.

“The United States has now committed approximately $6.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including approximately $5.6 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion on February 24. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $8.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine,” Mr Breasseale said.

He added that the US “also continues to work with its allies and partners to identify and provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its evolving battlefield requirement”.