World News | U.S. to send Ukraine $500 million worth of weapons, military aid, officials say

WASHINGTON, June 27 (AP) The Pentagon will announce up to $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and missiles for an air defense system, U.S. officials said Monday. Western leaders are trying to address the fallout from a brief insurgency over the weekend in Russia.

The aid is intended to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has been slow in its initial stages. It was unclear on Monday whether Ukrainian troops would be able to take advantage of the disarray in Russian forces following a brief uprising by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagnerian mercenary group he controls.

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The aid package is expected to be announced on Tuesday. It would be the 41st time the U.S. has provided military weapons and equipment through a presidential drawdown authorization since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The program allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own inventory and ship them to Ukraine.

Since aid packages are often planned in advance and have recently included many of the same key weapons as on the front lines, it’s unlikely content will be chosen based on the weekend’s insurgency.

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But the missiles and heavy vehicles could be used as Ukraine seeks to capitalize on growing discord between Wagner Group leaders and Russia’s military top brass, and questions about how many of Prigozhin’s troops might withdraw from the fight.

Mercenaries left Ukraine to seize military headquarters in a southern Russian city and marched hundreds of miles toward Moscow before turning around less than 24 hours later on Saturday.

The U.S. will send 30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 25 Stryker armored vehicles to Ukraine, along with missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Patriot air defense systems, according to officials. The kit will include Javelin and High Speed ​​Anti-Radiation (HARM) missiles, demolition munitions, obstacle-clearing equipment, and a variety of shells and other munitions.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been announced publicly. (Associated Press)

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