US Expected To Send $750M In Weapons To Aid Ukraine

The Biden administration announced plans on Wednesday to send $800 million in additional weapons and other military aid to Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said is critically needed if his country is going to be able to withstand Russia's unending onslaught.

According to the Pentagon, the new package of arms will include:

-              18 155mm Howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds

-              Ten AN/TPQ- 36 counter-artillery radars

-              Two AN/MQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars

-              300 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems

-              500 Javelin missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems

-              200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers

-              100 Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles

-              11 Mi-17 helicopters

-              Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear protective equipment

-              Medical equipment

-              30,000 sets of body armor and helmets

"We tailored this list specifically to meet the needs that they have asked for with respect to what's going on in eastern Ukraine," said Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby at a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Satellite photos confirm that Russia troops are regrouping and narrowing the focus of their offensive to eastern Ukraine.

President Biden told President Zelenskyy about the weapons shipment in a phone conversation on April 13, after which Zelenskyy tweeted, "Continued constant dialogue with @POTUS. Assessed Russian war crimes. Discussed additional package of defensive and possible macro-financial aid. Agreed to enhance sanctions."

The evidence of Russian war crimes continues to mount and in fact, on Wednesday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) released a report citing actual evidence of such war crimes, including directly targeting civilians and medical facilities, as well as rape, executions, looting and forced deportations of civilians to Russia. At an event in Iowa Tuesday, President Biden asserted Vladimir Putin was engaged in genocide.

"Yes, I called it genocide," Biden told reporters afterward, "because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian...we'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me."

The announcement of more weapons for Ukraine drew lukewarm approval from Republicans, who say, in general, the military aid hasn't been provided quickly enough.

"From the start, the Biden administration has slow-walked necessary defense capabilities and lethal aid to bolster Ukrainian forces," said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK5) in a statement. "Although the expansion of weapons is definitely a step in the right direction, I hope it isn’t too little too late. I’m encouraged that there is strong consideration of giving larger and more lethal drones and manned helicopters. We must continue to increase the lethality of weapons in a swift manner so Ukraine can further defend itself from the relentless Russian war machine."

"[President Biden] just announced a new $800M aid package for Ukraine including artillery and armored personnel carriers," said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) in a statement. "The [administration] can still send $1.3B more. We must ensure Ukrainians have everything they need to defeat Russians in the east and continue rolling back Russian aggression."

The $800 million shipment announced Wednesday will push the amount of security assistance the United States has provided Ukraine since the start of the war to more than $2.5 billion, and to about $3.2 billion since Joe Biden took office.