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Pentagon OK’s $125M Aid Package for Ukraine

The Pentagon has announced $125 million in military aid for Ukraine to help it combat Russian aggression
Mark VI Patrol Boat
Mark VI Patrol Boat

Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said the aid includes training, equipment and advisory efforts "to help Ukraine's forces preserve the country's territorial integrity, secure its borders and improve interoperability with NATO."

Kirby said the assistance would not include Javelin anti-tank missiles, but would include two armed Mark IV patrol boats to help Ukraine defend its territorial waters.

Ukraine, U.S. military aid, Mark VI patrol boat
Ukraine's Navy will be the first foreign operator of MK VI patrol boats

The package is funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Read more: Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Selects Anti-Ship, Air Defense Armaments for its Future Ada-Class Corvettes

In addition to the two Mark VI patrol boats, the Pentagon said it is providing radars for countering artillery; support for satellite imagery and analysis capability; and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures.

Ukraine, U.S. military aid, counter-artillery radar
U.S. continues supplying Ukrainian military with various types gun spotting radars

The remaining $150 million in military aid approved by Congress for the 2021 fiscal year will not be provided until the departments of State and Defense are in a position to certify to Congress that Ukraine has made “sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year,” the Pentagon said.

“The [Defense] Department encourages Ukraine to continue to enact reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, promote increased transparency and accountability in defense industry and procurement, and modernize its defense sector in other key areas in line with NATO principles and standards,” the statement goes on to say.

“This action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression,” the Pentagon said.

The latest aid package is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totaling $1.5 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and a separatist conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass area.

Read more: Ukrainian Navy Anticipating Delivery of State-of the-Art Weaponry by 2022