The United States is set to sell more military equipment to Ukraine, according to a statement issued Thursday by the Department of Defense.
Earlier this year, the Defense Department made plans to provide some $250 million in aid to Ukraine, with the goal of transitioning that aid before the end of the fiscal year. The department was largely successful in that goal, a Pentagon spokesman said.
“As of today, the bulk of this $250 million is on contract, the rest should be out soon,” Jonathan Rath Hoffman, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, said during a news conference at the Pentagon today.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in its statement that the State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Ukraine for one Javelin missiles and related equipment and support.
The approval, which was announced by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on 03 October, covers the one hundred fifty Javelin missiles, ten Javelin Command Launch Units, training devices, transportation, support equipment, technical data and publications as well as other equipment and support for an estimated cost not to exceed $39.2 million.
“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine,” the DSCA said.”The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements.”
The United States has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent outbreak of fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region that has killed more than 10,000 people.