A Ukrainian MiG-29 firing an AGM-88 HARM.
The White House is surging another $500 million in military equipment to Ukraine amid its ongoing counteroffensive to replace destroyed vehicles and restock critical air defenses in an announcement the Pentagon says was not timed with recent uncertainty inside Russia.
The announcement, which is a drawdown of existing U.S. military stocks that can quickly be taken to Ukraine, is the 41st since August 2021. The latest batch includes additional munitions for Patriot air defenses, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation missiles, precision aerial munitions, artillery rounds, and 55 Stryker and Bradley vehicles, among other items.
In a June 27 briefing, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the announcement was part of the department’s regular process of conducting these drawdowns. It is not tied to the Wagner Group private military corporation’s brief fight against the Russian military and march toward Moscow. Ryder said there was not a consideration to surge even more equipment to Ukraine to take advantage of the situation. Instead, the department relied on its typical deliberative process.
