US Department of Defense releases list of weapons supplied to Ukraine

Released on September 16, the list represents the bulk of the $15.8 billion in security assistance sent to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office. The bulk of that — $15.1 billion — has been sent to Kiev since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Biden administration has allocated about $55 billion in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, with most of the military aid coming from a $40 billion spending bill passed by Congress in May.

Included in the list are more than 8,500 Javelin anti-tank missile launchers, 126 155mm guns with 806,000 rounds, 16 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 8 National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), 20 Mi-17 helicopters, more than 60 million rounds of small arms ammunition, more than 50 counter-battery radars, and the use of commercial US spy satellites.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare weapons to fire in Kharkiv, August 24, 2022. Photo: AP

Kiev claims these weapons have allowed its troops to launch successful counterattacks against Russian forces. However, according to Moscow, a Ukrainian counterattack near Kherson last month ended disastrously, with more than 1,200 Ukrainian troops killed and dozens of armored vehicles destroyed.

However, in the recent counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine has regained control of many areas. On September 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country had regained 6,000 square kilometers of territory in the east and south since the beginning of September. Zelensky declared that the Kharkiv counter-offensive marked a “turning point” in the conflict, even saying that if Ukraine had been “a little stronger in terms of weapons,” it could have defeated the Russian army. As a result, Kiev has asked the United States to provide more advanced weapons, including long-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets.

Some US officials and lawmakers have warned that the US weapons stockpile is running low amid the country's unprecedented increase in arms supplies to Ukraine. President Zelensky is expected to directly appeal to US defense contractors at a conference next week./.