The US is the main arms supplier to Ukraine. In the long run, the Pentagon is not ruling out sending military planes to the war-torn country. First, however, it adopts military aid, which provides for about four more HIMARS rocket launchers.
The US has approved an additional $270 million in military aid to Ukraine, including four new HIMARS missile launchers. In response to the "atrocities" committed by Russia, US President Joe Biden made it clear "that we will support the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people for as long as is necessary," said White House spokesman John Kirby.
This brings the number of HIMARS missile launchers sent to Ukraine to 20. Ukraine said the missile launchers, which can fire at targets up to 80 kilometers away, are crucial in the fight against Russia. The newly released aid will also include 500 Phoenix Ghosts drones, which will detonate at their target location, according to Kirby. Artillery ammunition will also be supplied. Most of that aid comes from a $40 billion package for Ukraine approved by the US Congress in May.
According to the US government, it is also examining a possible delivery of American fighter jets to Ukraine. However, the communications director of the National Security Council, John Kirby, emphasized "that these are exploratory considerations which cannot be implemented in the near future". The tests are not about machines from the ex-Soviet Union, but about American-made aircraft.
Kirby said in a telephone switchboard with reporters that the operation of modern fighter jets is "a difficult task". Factors such as crew training, maintenance or the delivery of spare parts also have to be taken into account - "an entire supply chain" is necessary to keep an aircraft in the air. He stressed that the US would support Ukraine in the fight against the invading Russian forces for as long as necessary. Since US President Joe Biden took office a year and a half ago, the US government has pledged $8.2 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine. The US is the main arms supplier to Ukraine.
