Howitzers & RIM-7 Missiles: US to Provide Over $3 Billion in New Military Assistance to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will provide an additional $3 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

"Today, the United States will demonstrate our continued enduring commitment to Ukraine's ability to defend itself with the announcement of over $3 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine," Jean-Pierre said during a press conference.

The new assistance package also includes $682 million for regional partners and allies on NATO's eastern flank and $225 million for Ukraine’s military modernization, the White House spokesperson said.

"[T]he package is expected to include… $225 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine to build the long-term capacity and modernization of Ukraine's military," Jean-Pierre said during a Friday briefing. "Today's assistance also includes $682 million for regional partners and allies on NATO's eastern flank to incentivize and backfill donations of military equipment."

The package is expected to include Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzer artillery guns, mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAPS) light vehicles and other armed personnel carriers as well as surface-to-air missiles, Jean-Pierre said.

Expanding on the announcement, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper detailed during a briefing that Howitzer deployment marked a "first" for the US. The official underscored that the 18 Howitzer systems would effectively compliment self-propelled Howitzers that have already been given to Ukraine by other countries.

Additionally, the defense package will include 4,000 Zuni aircraft rockets for use by its air assets and RIM-7 Sea Sparrow air defense missiles intended to be integrated into the Soviet Buk surface-to-air missile system.

"The RIM-7 will integrate with the Buk system. So, this is a Soviet-type system. The S-300, that's a strategic range, whereas the Buk is a shorter-range system," Cooper said during a press briefing. "It is a creative solution that did require some engineering finesse."

Touching on the possible deployments of the Bradley fighting vehicles, Cooper noted it would take a "couple of months" to field the tech.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden confirmed Bradley vehicles were on the table for Ukraine military aid packages, but failed to specify when the deployment would be made official.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In response, Western countries and their allies have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and ramped up their financial and military support of Kiev.