Ukraine Getting More HIMARS from U.S. in New Aid Package

The Pentagon is poised to give additional long-range missile launchers to Ukraine, which the country's defense forces have been using to gain an edge on Russia's larger and better-equipped military.

Four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) will be included in a coming $625 million military aid package for Ukraine, Reuters and Associated Press (AP) reported Monday. The additional HIMARS come as the Biden administration looks to shore up Ukraine's long-term defense after it successfully used HIMARS in recent advances against Russia.

Citing unnamed sources, the news outlets reported that the unannounced package will include other ammunition and equipment for Ukraine. News of the additional military assistance comes less than a week after the Pentagon announced a $1.1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine that includes funding for 18 HIMARS.

Over the summer, the U.S. delivered a total of 16 HIMARS to Ukraine's military. Described as a "game-changer," the missile systems can be mounted on a standard Army truck and operated with a small crew that includes a driver, gunner and launcher section chief.

The nimble missile system has a range of about 50 miles, allowing Ukraine's defense forces to strike behind Russian lines at "high-value" targets, including ammunition depots, long-range artillery positions, command posts and air-defense sites.

"What we're seeing now is a kind of change in the battlefield dynamics," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told CNN on Sunday. "They've done very, very well in the Kharkiv area and moved to take advantage of opportunities. The fight in the Kherson region's going a bit slower, but they're making progress."

The new military aid comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists to bolster the war effort. Ukrainian defense forces over the summer launched a counteroffensive that's retaken large portions of the country's northeast. Putin announced last week that Russia had annexed four occupied regions in Ukraine after holding widely condemned referendums.

Ukrainian forces last week used HIMARS to kill Alexei Katerinichev, the first deputy head of security in the Kremlin-installed administration of Kherson, one of the annexed regions.

A high-ranking Pentagon official told AP that Russia has been forced into a "defensive crouch" in Kherson after Ukraine successfully struck at its supply lines to the front.

The military aid package announced last week is aimed at purchasing new HIMARS from Lockheed Martin Corporation to ensure Ukraine has access to the weapon system for the years ahead.

While the long-term purchase of newly manufactured HIMARS for Ukraine doesn't preclude the U.S. from continuing to pull existing systems from inventory if need be, it does serve a larger purpose to have those systems on contract and in the pipeline for delivery at a later date, the Pentagon official added.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.