By Dave DeCamp.
The White House said Monday that the US will be sending another weapons package to Ukraine “soon” to show continued support for the war after Congress did not include Ukraine aid in the short-term funding bill it passed over the weekend.
“There is [a] strong, very strong international coalition behind Ukraine. And if Putin thinks he can outlast us, he’s wrong,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “And so we will have another package of aid for Ukraine soon to signal our continued support for the brave people of Ukraine.”
The last weapons package the US provided Ukraine was announced on September 21 when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington. The package was worth $325 million and included the second tranche of civilian-killing cluster bombs. According to the Pentagon, the US still has $5.4 billion in funds that can be used to ship weapons to Ukraine from US military stockpiles.
Jean-Pierre did not say what might be included in the next aid package. According to several media reports, President Biden has agreed to arm Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which would mark a significant escalation since the missiles have a range of up to 190 miles.
Reports have said Biden plans to send a cluster bomb variant of ATACMS to Ukraine, making the escalation more significant. The potential weapons transfer would give Ukraine the ability to target Russian territory with cluster bombs, which leave behind unexploded submunitions that can be found by civilians years or decades after their use.
Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.
Source: AntiWar.com. 3 October 2023