JAKARTA - Ukraine will receive significant additional military assistance, including various military equipment from the United States, along with an increase in attacks by Russian troops in the south and east.
Ukraine has warned Russia is stepping up efforts in the South and East to seek full control of Mariupol, the first major city to fall. The Kremlin's nearly seven-week offensive did not go according to plan.
"Russian troops are increasing their activity on the southern and eastern fronts, seeking to avenge their defeats," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video speech late Wednesday, citing Reuters, April 14.
Separately, United States President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, expanding the scope of the system provided to include heavy artillery.
The package, which brings the total amount of military aid since Russian forces invaded in February to more than $2.5 billion, includes artillery systems, artillery shells, armored personnel carriers, and unmanned coastal defense vessels, President Biden said in a statement after a phone call with President Zelensky.
President Biden further explained that he had also approved the transfer of additional helicopters, saying the equipment provided to Ukraine was "very important" in the face of an invasion.
"We cannot rest now. As I assured President Zelensky, the American people will continue to stand with the brave Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom," President Biden said in a written statement.
The new package includes 11 Mi-17 helicopters that had been allocated to Afghanistan before the US-backed government collapsed last year. It also includes 18 155mm howitzers, along with 40,000 artillery shells, counter-artillery radar, 200 armored personnel carriers, and an additional 300 'Switchblade' drones.
This is the first time howitzers have been provided to Ukraine by the United States.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said some systems, such as howitzers and radars, would require additional training for Ukrainian forces unfamiliar with American military equipment.
"We know the clock and we know time is not our friend," Kirby said when asked about delivery speed.
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The new aid, first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, will be funded using the President's Withdrawal Authority, or PDA, under which the president can allow the transfer of goods and services from U.S. deposits, without Congressional approval in response to an emergency.
John Spencer, a retired US Army major and urban warfare expert at the Madison Policy Forum, said he was pleased to see the United States deliver artillery and artillery shells.
"You need this bigger and more powerful weapon, to match what Russia brought to try to seize eastern Ukraine," said Spencer. Grumman Corp (NOC.N).
President Zelensky has pleaded with US and European leaders to provide heavier weapons and equipment. Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in the seven-week invasion.
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