The US is sending another $275 million in aid to Ukraine

The US is sending another round of aid Ukraine which includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) as part of a $275 million package, the State Department confirmed Friday.

The latest aid means the US has provided around $17.9 billion to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, a State Department spokesman said. The latest package is also expected to contain 500 precision-guided 155mm rounds; 2,000 155mm round Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) systems; 125 Highly Mobile Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); more than 1,300 anti-tank systems; small arms and more than 2.7 million rounds of small arms ammunition; and four satellite communication antennas.

“The United States, with more than 50 allies and partners, will continue to support the Ukrainian people as they defend their freedom and independence with extraordinary courage and boundless determination,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Earlier this month the US be committed another four HIMARS to Ukraine as part of a $625 million arms package. This package also included artillery systems, ammunition and armored vehicles.

The US has so far withdrawn 20 HIMARS from its own stocks for Ukraine. The advanced missile systems and munitions allow Ukraine to attack Russian command posts, munitions centers and support areas beyond the front lines.

The expected announcement comes as Ukraine and its allies, including the US, warned Russia against the use of a “dirty bomb” – a device that uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material – in Ukraine. Russia’s defense minister had claimed in a series of talks with defense officials from other countries that it was Ukraine preparing to detonate such a device on its own territory, an accusation the US and several allies called “manifestly false”. .

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Thursday after months of mounting tensions that he has no intention of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to The Associated Press.

“We see no need for that,” Putin said, according to the AP. “It makes no sense, neither politically nor militarily.”

Russia recently unleashed a wave of attacks Deployment of Iranian-made self-detonating drones in Kyiv and other regions.

The Biden administration has promised 18 more HIMARS under a contract process that will take “a few years” to deliver to Ukraine, a senior defense official said last month.

Margaret Brennan and Eleanor Watson contributed reporting.