WASHINGTON — The United States plans to send Ukraine additional air defense interceptors and munitions as part of a $2.6 billion aid package, part of which will be used to help Kyiv prepare for a planned spring offensive against Russian troops.
The package announced on Tuesday includes $500 million in ammunition and equipment from U.S. military stockpiles, and $2.1 billion that the United States will use to buy munitions, radar and other weapons to send to Ukraine in the future.
“Russia alone could end its war today,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement. “Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The $2.1 billion, which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a funding program led by the Defense Department, will be used to purchase missiles for NASAMS air defense systems. The money will also be used to purchase antiaircraft ammunition, mobile laser-guided rocket systems, fuel tankers and other equipment, according to the Pentagon.
The air defense systems in particular are notable as Russia continues to launch barrages of long-range missiles at Ukraine. They include two new anti-drone weapons systems: nine trucks each mounted with a 30-millimeter gun and 10 mobile rocket launchers.
In a briefing to reporters from the Pentagon, a senior defense official said the mobile launchers would fire a laser-guided rocket that previously was provided to Ukraine.
That munition, called the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, is a novel adaptation of an aerial rocket that American warplanes and helicopters have used in combat since the Korean War. Measuring 2.75 inches in diameter and about four feet long, it uses a solid-fuel rocket motor that can be fitted to a variety of warheads for different missions.
The system is a kit inserted between the rocket’s warhead and motor, turning, an unguided weapon into a precision-guided weapon that can be accurately fired in smaller numbers to destroy a target. First used by U.S. aircraft in the post-9/11 wars, they were given to Ukraine earlier in the war to attack ground targets. Whether they have ever been used to shoot down drones is unclear.
The gun trucks are believed to be effective in shooting down drones like the Iranian Shaheds that Russian forces have rained down on Ukraine, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the aid package.
Meanwhile, a fierce battle still rages in the city of Bakhmut, which is at the heart of a Russian campaign to seize all of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Russian troops were expected to have taken the city months ago, but the battle has been long, costly and so far indecisive.
The front lines are relatively static at the moment, the official said, with both sides exchanging significant amounts of artillery fire. The United States is focused on supporting Ukraine to change that dynamic, the official added.
