U.S. Will Send Ukraine Weapons 'No Matter the Expense': Pentagon

The Pentagon said it will continue supplying weapons to Ukraine regardless of the expense, as Washington, D.C., leads the effort to prepare Kyiv's troops for what it hopes will be a decisive spring counteroffensive.

At a Pentagon press briefing on Wednesday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh updated reporters on the latest American weapons package—worth $2.6 billion—heading to Kyiv, as Ukrainian troops defend against Russia's grinding attacks in the Donbas and prepare to resume offensive operations.

"We're giving the Ukrainians what they need right now on the battlefield," Singh said, "no matter the expense, as you can see from our commitment. And we're going to continue to do that. The president, the secretary have said we're with Ukraine for as long as it takes, and so we're going to keep providing them the capabilities that they need."

The latest tranche of aid will be drawn from U.S. stockpiles so as to accelerate delivery to Ukraine. The package includes fresh ammunition for the U.S.-made HIMARS, air defense interceptors, and much-needed artillery shells.

Also in the new delivery will be munitions for Patriot surface-to-air defense systems—which have been committed by multiple NATO allies, but are not yet in operation in Ukraine, anti-tank weapons and mortar rounds.

The U.S. will be sending two new weapons—nine 30-millimeter gun trucks and 10 mobile C-UAS laser-guided rocket systems—designed to counter drones, which have had a significant influence on the front lines and in Ukrainian cities under Russian bombardment. Iranian-made Shahed UAVs are of particular concern to Kyiv and its partners abroad.

Singh told reporters on Wednesday that the Pentagon believes Ukraine's drone problem will persist. "We are seeing the increasing use of Iranian-made drones and the shipment of those drones to Russia," she said. "We're seeing Russia employing them on the battlefield."

"In the long term, I think we can anticipate that Russia's going to continue to use these drones, which is why we're giving them the counter-UAS equipment that we did," Singh said.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry by email to request comment.

Perhaps the most hotly anticipated U.S. system heading to Ukraine is the M1 Abrams main battle tank. The White House joined other NATO nations in committing its prime armored platform to the fight in January, though its delivery of the 31 systems will take longer than the Leopard 2 tanks coming from European allies, some of which are already in Ukrainian hands.

Though initially not expected to arrive this year, the Pentagon now says it hopes the Abrams will be in theater by the end of 2023. A Pentagon official told reporters this week that the training of Ukrainians on the system will begin "relatively soon."

Singh said: "That is going to take some time. Our goal is to have those to Ukraine before the end of the year. But that's the only time frame I can give you right now."