Zelensky Will Request More Weapons Directly at Conference With Top US Arms Makers
Kyle Anzalone / AntiWar.com
(September 9, 2022) — According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will appear at a summit with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and other American weapons manufacturers later this month. The Ukrainian leader is expected to appeal for more arms transfers. On Thursday, top White House officials announced nearly $3 billion in military support for the war.
The conference will be hosted in Austin, Texas on September 21 and Zelensky will appear via video conference. Since the war started, he has spoken with Congress, the Grammys and numerous other worldwide cultural events. The summit later this month will be the first time Zelensky directly appealed to the heads of arms manufacturers.
After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the Biden Administration has announced several rounds of security assistance for Kiev totaling tens of billions of dollars. The US has sent over one dozen High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) produced by Lockheed and thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles produced jointly by Lockheed and Raytheon. Both companies experienced bumps in their stock prices after the start of the war.
The weapons sales from the war in Ukraine are expected to last well into the future. This week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a group of European officials the US will support Kiev for the long haul. “We will work together to train Ukraine’s forces for the long haul. We will work together to help integrate Ukraine’s capabilities and bolster its joint operations for the long haul,” he said.
Austin was formerly employed at Raytheon and has supported the US intervention in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Austin, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, announced $2.8 billion in military aid for Ukraine. The US has pledged over $15 billion in weapons for Kiev since February.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
US Announces $2.8 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine, Regional Allies
(September 8, 2022) — On Thursday, the Biden administration announced over $2.8 billion in military aid for Ukraine and US allies in the region. The announcement came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kyiv, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chaired a meeting of defense ministers in Germany.
In Kyiv, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials and said that the administration was providing $2.2 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Ukraine and 17 other countries in the region.
FMF is a State Department program that gives money to foreign governments that they can use to purchase US-made military equipment. The $2.2 billion is being pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill President Biden signed in May, which authorized $4 billion for FMF.
According to The Associated Press, about $1 billion of the $2.2 billion will go to Ukraine. The remaining funds will be divided among Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Over at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Austin told a group of officials representing over 50 countries, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, that President Biden approved a new $675 million weapons package for Ukraine.
According to the Pentagon, the arms package includes:
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
- Four 105mm Howitzers and 36,000 105mm artillery rounds
- Additional High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARM)
- 100 Armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV)
- 5 million rounds of small arms ammunition
- More than 5,000 anti-armor systems
- 1,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems
- Additional grenade launchers and small arms
- 50 armored medical treatment vehicles
- Night vision devices and other field equipment
The Pentagon said that the new aid brings the total military assistance the US has pledged since Russia invaded on February 24 to more than $14.5 billion. The $675 million is also being pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill. The Biden administration told Congress last week that it seeks another $13.7 billion for Ukraine aid as the funds are close to running out.
Austin told the contact group that the new aid will help support Ukraine for the “long haul” as there are no signs that the war will be ending anytime soon. The US and NATO have made clear that they are prepared to support the war against Russia for years to come.
“We will work together to train Ukraine’s forces for the long haul. We will work together to help integrate Ukraine’s capabilities and bolster its joint operations for the long haul,” Austin said.
“We will work together to upgrade our defense industrial basis to meet Ukraine’s requirements for the long haul, and we will work together for production and innovation to meet Ukraine’s self-defense needs for the long haul,” he added.
Austin said that the US and its allies are seeing the “demonstrable success” of their support for Ukraine on the battlefield. But Ukraine is taking heavy losses in its southern counteroffensive and doesn’t appear to be regaining territory.
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