First package of military assistance to Ukraine from new fund to include ammunition, drones

The British Ministry of Defense has announced that the first package of military assistance to Ukraine from the new $240 million fund will include ammunition, spare parts for tanks and drones.

“Ukraine will receive millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, including tank parts, unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare and air defence systems, as part of the first aid package from the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU),” according to the press release published on the website of the ministry on February 15.

Deliveries were agreed upon with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It is noted that more than 40 countries have submitted over 1.5 thousand proposals for the first package from the IFU.

“This set of equipment will provide a significant increase in the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and support their ability to defend their country,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was quoted as saying by the department.

On February 14, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US military was considering transferring to Ukraine intercepted weapons and ammunition that Iran allegedly planned to transfer to militants in Yemen. According to sources of the publication, we are talking about 5,000 machine guns, 1.6 million rounds of ammunition for small arms, a certain number of anti-tank missiles and more than 7,000 fuses.

It became known on February 13 that the White House is working on approving a $10 billion budget aid to Ukraine. Washington is expected to announce it next week.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, during a briefing on February 10, said that the package of military assistance from the United States announced on February 3 for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is pushing Kyiv to commit war crimes. She also stressed that the financial assistance announced by Brussels to Kyiv will be spent on the “slaughter”.

Prior to that, on February 3, the Pentagon announced a $2.175 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which included HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and ammunition for Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile systems. In addition, the United States included GLSDB projectiles in the package, which can fly about 150 km.