The latest tranche of weapons comes as worries grow about an escalation in the conflict, with both sides pushing to gain any advantage that they can exploit if Trump demands a quick end to the war…reports Asian Lite News
The Pentagon will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons, US officials said Tuesday, as the Biden administration rushes to do as much as it can to help Kyiv fight back against Russia in the remaining two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The latest tranche of weapons comes as worries grow about an escalation in the conflict, with both sides pushing to gain any advantage that they can exploit if Trump demands a quick end to the war — as he has vowed to do.
In rapid succession this week, President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the authority to fire longer-range missiles deeper into Russia and then Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
US officials contend that Russia’s change in nuclear doctrine was expected, but Moscow is warning that Ukraine’s new use of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, inside Russia on Tuesday could trigger a strong response.
One American official said the US is seeing no indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid package has not yet been made public.
Asked Tuesday if a Ukrainian attack with longer-range US missiles could potentially trigger use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered affirmatively. He pointed to the doctrine’s provision that holds the door open for it after a conventional strike that raises critical threats for the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Russia and its ally Belarus.
A US official said Ukraine fired about eight ATACM missiles into Russia on Tuesday, and just two were intercepted. The official said the US is still assessing the damage but that the missiles struck an ammunition supply location in Karachev, in the Bryansk region.
The weapons in the new package of aid for Ukraine include an infusion of air defense, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, Javelin anti-armor munitions and other equipment and spare parts, US officials say.
The weapons will be provided through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon quickly to pull supplies from its shelves to speed them to Ukraine’s front line.
Trump’s upcoming move to the White House has triggered a scramble by the Biden administration to ensure all the congressionally approved funding for Ukraine gets delivered and that Kyiv is in a strong position going into the winter.
The Biden administration would have to rush $7.1 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to spend all of those funds before Trump is sworn in. That includes $4.3 billion from a foreign aid bill passed by Congress earlier this year and $2.8 billion still on the books in savings due to the Pentagon recalculating the value of systems sent.
As part of the wider effort, the administration also is on track to disperse its portion of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, before Biden leaves the White House, according to two senior administration officials.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said the US and Ukraine are now in “advanced stages” in discussing terms of the loan and are looking to complete the process for the $20 billion portion of the mammoth loan that the US is backing.
The goal is to get it done before the end of the year, one official said.
Biden agrees to give anti-personnel mines
Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a US defence official told the BBC, a move seen as an attempt to slow Russian troops who have been steadily advancing in Ukraine’s east in recent months. The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said such mines would be delivered soon and Washington expected that they would be used on Ukraine’s territory.
Ukraine was also committed to not using the mines in densely-populated areas, the official said. Separately, the US State Department said it would close its embassy in Kyiv after it “received specific information of a potential significant air attack on 20 November”.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” it said in a statement. “The US embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”
Overnight, both Ukraine and Russia reported major drone attacks on their respective territories. It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties. The provision of anti-personnel land mines is the latest move by the outgoing US administration to bolster Ukraine’s war effort before Donald Trump returns to the White House on 20 January.
Russia has deployed landmines liberally since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but international objections to the use of such weapons on the grounds that they pose a risk to civilians had prevented the Biden administration from signing off on them.
The US defence official confirmed to the BBC that Ukraine had pledged to use only mines that remained active for a limited period of time.
The US “non-persistent” mines differ from Russia’s as they become inert after a pre-set period of time – anywhere from four hours to two weeks. They are electrically fused and require battery power to detonate. Once the battery runs out, they will not detonate.
Washington has already been providing anti-tank mines to Ukraine, but the anti-personnel land mines – which can be rapidly deployed – are designed to blunt the advances of ground forces. Earlier, it was confirmed that US-made longer-range Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles had struck targets inside Russia only days after reports emerged that the White House had granted permission for their use.
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