“Only to support pants”: Kramnik appreciated the new package of US aid to Ukraine

This is not an offensive set

For the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Kyiv, the United States has reserved another package of military aid from the Pentagon for Ukraine. It is not so big – only $ 175 million. At the same time, Blinken called in Kiev another amount of assistance from the United States – $ 1 billion. What is the matter, military expert Ilya Kramnik explained to MK.

– The package of US presidential assistance for 175 million is supposed to transfer to Ukraine weapons and equipment from the presence of “in the bins” of the Pentagon. It will be provided in the coming days and weeks.

What Blinken is talking about is more long-term assistance that will be distributed in the future. It may be issued in the future in the form of presidential packages or funding for military purchases in the interests of Kyiv in other countries. But that help will have to wait.

According to the US Department of Defense, the new, 46th in a row, military assistance package included, in particular, additional equipment for unspecified air defense systems; artillery shells; anti-tank ammunition, including 120-mm depleted uranium tank rounds for Abrams tanks. The tanks themselves, by the way, have not yet reached Ukraine, unlike the German Leopards and the British Challengers. Both of them have already suffered losses.

The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in the United States have already spoken about the supply of American ammunition with depleted uranium. According to them, Washington does not care about the fate of Ukrainians, who face an inevitable surge in cancer after the use of uranium-filled shells.

In addition to these weapons, the United States will supply Kyiv with an additional batch of ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems; projectile for artillery of NATO calibers 155 mm and 105 mm; 81-mm mortars and shells for them; anti-tank systems “Javelin” and AT-4.

The US will also supply more than 3 million small arms rounds; tactical drones and secure communications systems. The list also includes engineering demining equipment.

Funds in the amount of $175 million were allocated from the very $6.1 billion that was not given to Ukraine, which were revealed by a financial audit at the Pentagon. A good ploy for the Biden administration to avoid asking for new funds from the Senate and Congress, where there is increasing criticism of thoughtless aid to Ukraine.

According to military expert Ilya Kramnik, the new package of American assistance does not represent anything interesting, except for 120-mm uranium armor-piercing shells for M1 Abrams tanks, which, apparently, will be transferred to Kiev in the near future.

“Once again, we note the drop in supply volumes,” the analyst said in his channel. – This is not a set for the offensive, it’s a way to support the pants. Will this change in the near future or in the next fin. year, we’ll see. There is less than a month left until the end of the financial year.”