As national attention was captured by a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the United States, the Biden administration has approved another $2.1 billion military aid package to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense arsenal.
The package includes $425 million in arms and equipment drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles, as well as $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative (UASI) funds, which Ukraine can use to purchase new weapons—particularly those related to air defense—from manufactures contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense.
In Friday’s announcement, the Pentagon said the package includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people.”
Specifically, Ukraine will receive additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), additional 155 millimeter artillery rounds, additional 120 millimeter mortar rounds, 190 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights and specialized anti-drone ammunition, 181 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, 250 Javelin anti-armor systems, 2,000 anti-armor rockets, Claymore anti-personnel munitions, and many other items of field equipment.
With the $1.75 billion USAI funds, Ukraine will be able to order from a range of air defense hardware, including two HAWK air defense firing units, four air surveillance radars, anti-drone warfare systems, and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Ukraine may also buy equipment needed to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars into their existing air defense systems.
“In total, the United States has now committed $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration,” the Pentagon said, noting that the United States has sent more than $32 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the 2014 Crimea crisis and more than $29.3 billion since last February, when Russia launched what it called a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
“The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements,” it added.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration faces criticism over its handling of a Chinese spy balloon, which reportedly traveled from from China to Alaska and through northwest Canada before arriving in Montana, where it was spotted by local residents.
“I believe that Montana truly got a firsthand look at the Biden administration’s weakness on foreign policy this week,” Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, said during a press conference on Friday. “It is a tremendous embarrassment for the United States of America.”
“Montanans and all the American people deserve answers from the Pentagon and from this administration on what happened and what is being done to ensure this never happens again,” Daines said.
The balloon was carrying with a “large payload underneath the surveillance component,” according to Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon’s chief spokesperson. However, the Pentagon said it estimated that the transit might not add much value to Beijing’s intelligence gathering effort.
“Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective,” Ryder said Friday.
Montana’s Democratic Senator Jon Tester announced on Friday that the Senate defense subcommittee that he chairs will hold a hearing to demand that Biden administration officials answer questions about the balloon.
“Montanans value their freedom and privacy, and I’ll always fight to defend both,” Tester said in a statement. “China’s actions are a clear threat to those values and to America’s national security, and I’m demanding answers from the Biden Administration.”
“As national attention was captured by a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the United States, the Biden administration has approved another $2.1 billion military aid package to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense arsenal.”
“As many times as the leftist narrative is dropped on us, we must reiterate that Ol’ Joe is not handling anything. He is nearly vegetative when not mindlessly repeating scripted lines being spoken into some sort of earpiece. Furthermore, the seeming “bungling” of the spy balloon episode was absolutely intentional. There can be no excusing it in any other manner.
Whoever is actually pulling the strings inside the Biden Cabal clearly has no interest in upholding the legitimate Constitutional duties of a Chief Executive. Rather, this person or persons (the actual direction it takes is so often disturbingly reminiscent of Obama) pulling the strings prove to be far too consistently damaging to America, especially in the long term, to be accidental. The current disaster in which we are living means someone is inflicting as much harm on our Nation as he can. And this was precisely the pattern under which America suffered throughout the entirety of Obama’s terms in the White House.”
They prove daily, they have no DESIRE TO PROTECT OUR nation.. Because they want to RUIN it!
RESOGM. BIDEM—NOT THAT YOUR REPLACEMENTS IN LINE ARE ANY BETTER, BUT WE CAN’T SURVIVE THIS.
The reason Joe waited until the spy balloon completed its assigned mission is obvious, The more Secret information the Chinese can glean about our nation defense top secrets, the greater the amount of laundered Chinese money goes into the coffers of his Biden Crime Family’s hidden assets. When the Chinese need is not so urgent Joe just takes classified documents home and awaits for Hunter to make a connection. When the need is urgent, they just send over a spy balloon and tell Joe to keep his hands off until the mission is completed and the damaged done, then shoot it down and flex his Presidential atrophied muscles,,too little too late. Cat let out of the bag,,,,,,,money now in the bag. Maybe the Montana National guard needs aircraft with the capability to shoot down miscreant balloons on order of the Governor? Seems nobody at the federal level wants to put the needs of THE PEOPLE over the needs of their own personal power or pocketbooks. The reason that only Chinese are interested in Hunter’s puerile paintings and not sane Patriotic Americans is because his self-portraits look more like Pictures of Dorian Gray, and definitely not executive material.
impeach this weak feckless moron!
Unfortunatley, there’s NOT ENOUGH BALLS In congress, to do that.
As Commander in Chief, he needs to be court-martialed.
Unfortunately as COC, with Gen Austin and co, THEY ARE ON HIS SIDE, so no court martial there..
Joe, when you do your SOTU speech, why dont you just come out and say.
**** AMERICA! Because that’s what you’re doing.
the Biden administration has approved another $2.1 billion military aid package to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense arsenal.
Hey CONGRESS, take your heads out of your rear ends and stop sending money to the non-democratic Ukraine . Time to cut back on all other Foreign Aid also.
IF OUR MILITARY is unable to defend our OWN BORDER< we should not be paying to defend OTHER NATIONS BORDERS!
Shows you where his priorities lie. But, anyone with a brain already knows that