The U.S. is sending Ukraine an additional $125 million in weapons to assist in its military operations against Russia, including much-needed air defense capabilities, radars to detect and counter enemy artillery and anti-tank weapons, the White House announced Friday.
The latest package comes as Ukraine has launched its largest ground offensive on Russian soil since the war began in February 2022. The offensive in the Kursk region has prompted Moscow to declare an emergency and send reinforcements there.
National security spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in the offensive was in line with administration policies. The Biden administration has approved their use in cross-border counterstrikes against Russia but not against targets deeper inside Russia, although the specific distances are not clear.
The weapons in this latest aid package will be drawn from existing U.S. stocks and will include Stinger missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) ammunition and vehicles. It brings the total amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine since 2022 to $55.6 billion.
That just seems really low to me. I know, I know, 125 million dollars is nothing to sneeze at. I’m not saying it’s a pitiful amount…
But it seems like only a year ago we were seeing headlines of us contributing BILLIONS of dollars in military support.
And even WITH that, I’m seeing Zelenskyy saying how he STILL needs ammunition.
Now, maybe whats happening here is that innitially we were sending them expensive equipment, like tanks, and planes, and rocket launchers. And maybe now those equipment still stand, but need ammunition. And ammunition, while a neverending expense, is still cheaper up front than the equipment meant to fire that ammunition.
Maybe thats whats happening, and I’m just an idiot. I’ll FULLY admit to being an idiot when it comes to the finer points of international weapons distribution, and global politics in a vacume that threatens to be the wick that ignites WWIII.
I’ll fully admit to maybe not understanding things in the full scale of things.
But reactionary kneejerk reactions, are are 125 million is LESS than the billions we previously were donating.
That being said, Cleveland got hit with some tornados on Tuesday, and I’ve been without power for a few days. So I have no salvagable food in my fridge, only beer. I tried ordering a pizza and some wings, but they wanted $70 before tip and delivery. So now I’m sitting here on Lemmy, just got power back today, 6 beers deep on an empty stomach trying to debate the global ramifications of obliterating russia.
So maybe my heads not on straight.
This is just a supplemental aid package which usually doesn’t make the news. It’s mainly just ammo, spare parts and a few vehicles. These updates happen frequently.
Big packages that are billions of dollars usually include many full weapon systems, lika full Patriot systems.
I suspect that a the line item for “demolition equipment and munitions” was high explosives and grenades for drone use.
Here is a rough list of this particular package:
https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/Support-for-Ukraine/Timeline/
DoD has a timeline. They’ve alternated between billions and millions even in the beginning.
125million is like half an F350 wing.
I read this post confused three times before I figured out you were talking about the F-35 fighter and not a Ford F350 pickup truck.
That’s what rulers in charge wants: you to not think straight. Otherwise you will realize that sending billions of public money to an authoritarian government while your fridge is empty is an injustice.
Billions to avoid WWIII and protect our interests and allies is a good investment
To avoid it? All these money are going into funding it.
US government interests are tied to corporations such as google, meta and worst. Israel is one of US allies.
I get it, the interests of the US government are very frequently wrong and harmful to the world.
But even a broken clock is right twice a day. And assisting Ukraine in defending itself against an invasion is, unequivocally, a good thing.
Al capone did plenty of charity, they sure were a good man.
They are sending billions of dollars in weapons to an authoritarian and corrupted government who passed martial law and forbids any man between 18-60 to leave the country, who’s also seeking to forcibly repatriate these who fled the country and are eligible for conscription. They are doing this while backing a genocide in israel, selling weapons to dictatorships such as saudi arabia and doing business with countries like china who are directly supplying russia in this war.
They don’t give a shit about you and me or common people, rulers do not fight their wars they send others to die for their slimy interests. That’s not a good thing.
Cool, also irrelevant.
They past martial law because they are fighting for their sovereignty, my guy. If the US had an invader beating down its doorstep and they had already taken California, I feel like switching to wartime government is justifiable. A draft is unfortunate, but when the alternative is to fold in the face of Russian aggression? That’s no choice at all.
See previous. Yes, the US makes a lot of bad decisions. Supplying Ukraine is not one of them.
So it is categorically impossible for leaders of nations to care about the people in the nations they administer? This comes off as incredibly cynical.
Forcing people to fight over invisible line on a map and pushing them into a meat grinder is evil. Rulers do not fight their wars they send peasants to die for them in the front. Freedom should never be abolished, wartimes are even a greater moment to fight for freedom and justice not against it.
They are totally ok with profiting out of people misery and misfortunes, just look how much money they are making out of the war industry these days. They simply are scum, look around yourself they do corporations interests not people.
I’m glad you’re opposed to the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the current invasion, very nice! Russia really should stop sending wave after wave of soldiers into the meat grinder just so they can seize more Ukrainian territory.
That is not an answer to my question.