The aid package package includes 155 millimeter artillery shells, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, small arms ammunition and Javelin and AT-4 launchers.
Austin said at a Monday press conference in Kyiv that the package will help Ukrainian troops in the coming months “have the means that they’ll need to be successful fighting in the wintertime.”
“There is no silver bullet in a conflict like this. It really depends on providing the right capabilities and also integrating those capabilities in meaningful ways,” he said. “The Ukraine military is a learning organization, and it will continue to learn from from all of its operations.
“I think what’s important is that the military constructs its operations to focus on the objectives and the goals that the president wants to achieve,” he added, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian forces have been bogged down in a stalemate with dug-in Russian forces for most of the year, with only marginal successes since launching a major counteroffensive in June.
Ukraine says it will need a steady supply of support from Western backers to stay in the fight, and the U.S. has vowed to continue supporting Kyiv as long as needed, though approved money is running out as winter closes in.
The Pentagon has said it is pacing out the number of packages to Ukraine as it waits for Congress to pass another round of legislation that could include potentially billions more.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
