The US Prepares Long-Term Security Assistance Worth IDR 17.7 Trillion to Strengthen Ukraine's Air Defense

Ukrainian air defense illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - The United States will provide long-term military assistance worth US$1.2 billion or around IDR 17.703.300.000.000 to Ukraine, to strengthen its air defense, along with increased attacks by drones, rockets and surface-to-air missiles by Russia, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Unlike the previous aid, this aid package will be provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, reported Reuters May 10.

Unlike US equipment, arms and ammunition shipped from the Pentagon stockpile that can be shipped to Ukraine quickly, this aid will be spent over the next months or even years, to ensure Kyiv's future security needs.

The Pentagon said it would fund air defense munitions and drones for air defense. As well as providing equipment to help modify Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars, so that they can be used with Ukrainian systems.

It was also to purchase artillery shells, howitzer ammunition, satellite imagery assistance, and funding for ongoing maintenance and spare parts for various systems.

The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because part of the deal had not been formally announced, said the arsenal would include the Hawk air defense system.

The Pentagon said the aid would build Ukraine's military capacity "to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression in the long term."

Including this package, the US has provided nearly $37 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February last year.

This latest aid comes as Ukraine prepares to launch a spring offensive against Russian troops, with air defense still a problem.

Earlier, Ukrainian air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv in a Russian night raid, officials said Monday.

Debris from the drone hit a two-storey apartment building in the capital's western Svyatoshynskyi district, while other debris hit a car parked nearby, setting it ablaze, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks on 127 targets in northern, southern, and eastern Ukraine killed three civilians, the Ukrainian defense ministry said.

Facing economic sanctions and restrictions on its supply chain due to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia routinely turns to Iran's Shahed drone to increase its firepower.

And, the US aid package - including weapons and more immediate military support - has included systems to shoot down and defeat the drone.