US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a large package of military aid to Ukraine worth six billion dollars.
"It will help us to provide new capacities for Ukrainian industry," he said at a press conference after the meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, on the two-year anniversary of its establishment. He said the US would send the planned aid "as soon as possible".
"The coalition for Ukraine stands together, we will not waver, we will not let go and we will be successful in deterring Russian aggression," he emphasized.
Austin said that the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which consists of more than 50 countries and meets once a month, will also help create an independent Ukrainian defense industry, strengthen Ukrainian capabilities in air defense and information technology, demining and drones.
The head of the Pentagon pointed out that the coalition shows that the world is motivated to oppose the Russian aggression against Ukraine. "The nations gathered here today know what is at stake for Ukraine, Europe, the United States and the world," he said. "If Putin wins in Ukraine, the security consequences would be global," Austin said. "As President Biden said, Putin will not stop at Ukraine".
Austin thanked Congress for passing an additional $95 billion aid package, saying it would help Ukraine continue its fight to defend its territories.
An additional aid package worth up to $1 billion was approved earlier this week.
That package was given to Kiev under a Presidential Authorization (PDA), and weapons, equipment and ammunition are being withdrawn from US military stockpiles to meet Ukraine's short-term needs. This includes ammunition for HIMARS, and 155 mm grenades, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, "javelins" and other urgently needed weapons.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the package would likely include artillery and air defense capabilities.
Both packages are part of a $61 billion aid funding bill for Ukraine that President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday. Congress last time adopted additional aid for Ukraine in 2022.
At a virtual meeting of the Contact Group on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev needed the Patriot missiles to create an air shield against Russian missile attacks.
"The group has moved 'heaven and earth' since April 2022 to find and secure millions of rounds of ammunition, missile systems, armored vehicles and even aircraft to help Ukraine respond to the Russian invasion," Defense Secretary Austin said.
Ukraine has been complaining for months about the shortage of weapons on the battlefield, especially in air defense and artillery ammunition. Officials say Moscow fired 10 artillery rounds for every one Ukrainian one fired.
The U.S. also confirmed for the first time that it is providing long-range ballistic missiles known as ATACMs, which allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian-occupied territories without having to advance and expose itself to drone detection or entrenched Russian defenses.
Ukraine withdrew Abrams tanks from the front
Ukraine has temporarily withdrawn M1A1 Abrams tanks provided by the United States to fight a Russian invasion, in part because Russia's use of drones has made it difficult for them to operate without detection or attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
The US agreed to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive months-long campaign by Kiev, arguing that the tanks, which cost around $10 million apiece, are vital to the Ukrainian military's ability to break through Russian lines.
But the situation on the battlefield has changed significantly since then, especially with the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and "suicide" drones. Those weapons have made it difficult for Ukraine to protect tanks when Russian drones quickly detect them.
Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks.
The widespread use of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means that "there is no open ground that you can simply walk across without fear of detection," a senior defense official told reporters on Thursday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide an update on U.S. arms support to Ukraine ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Friday.
For now, the tanks have been moved from the front lines, and the U.S. will work with the Ukrainians to reset tactics, said Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Christopher Grady and a third defense official who confirmed the move on condition of anonymity.
"When you think about the way combat has evolved, mass armored vehicles — in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous — can be at risk," Grady told the AP in an interview this week, adding that tanks are still important.
"Now there's a way to do it," he said. "We will work with our Ukrainian partners and other partners on the ground, to help them think about how they can use it, in such a changed environment now, where everything is visible immediately."
After announcing in January 2023 that it would provide Ukraine with Abrams tanks, the U.S. that spring began training Ukrainians at the Grafenwehr military base in Germany to maintain and operate them. They also taught the Ukrainians how to use them in combined warfare — where tanks act as part of an advancing armored force system, coordinating movements with overhead fire, advancing infantry and with air support.
As spring wears on and Ukraine's long-awaited counter-offensive stalls, the shift from tank training in Germany to bringing the Abrams to the battlefield is seen as imperative to break through entrenched Russian lines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in September on his Telegram channel that the Abrams had arrived in Ukraine.
Since then, however, Ukraine has used them only in a limited way and has not started conducting combined warfare in military operations, the defense official said.
During the recent withdrawal from Avdiyivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been at the center of intense fighting for months, several tanks were lost to Russian attacks, the official said.
A long delay by Congress in passing a new funding bill for Ukraine meant that Kiev's forces had to ration ammunition, and in some cases were only able to fire back once every five or more strikes by Russian forces.
In Avdiyivka, Ukrainian forces were heavily outnumbered and retaliated against Russian attacks with glide bombs and "suicide" drones with all possible ammunition that was left at their disposal.
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