The United States will send $275 million in aid to Ukraine

The US is sending another round of aid Ukraine which includes additional ammunition for highly mobile artillery missile systems (GUIMARS) as part of a $275 million package, the State Department confirmed Friday.

The latest aid means the U.S. has given Ukraine roughly $17.9 billion since Russia invaded in February, a State Department spokesman said. The latest package is also expected to include 500 high-precision 155mm rounds; 2,000 155-mm Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAM) rounds; 125 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV); more than 1,300 ABM complexes; small arms and more than 2.7 million rounds of ammunition for small arms; and four satellite communications antennas.

“The United States will continue to stand with more than 50 allies and partners in support of the people of Ukraine, who are defending their freedom and independence with extraordinary courage and boundless determination,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Earlier this month, the US committed four more HIMARS to Ukraine as part of a $625 million arms package. This package also included artillery systems, ammunition and armored vehicles.

The US has so far removed 20 HIMARS from its stockpile for Ukraine. Modern jet systems and ammunition allow Ukraine to strike Russian command posts, ammunition centers and support areas behind the front line.

The expected statement came at a time when Ukraine and its allies, including the United States, – warned Russia against the use of a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine, a device that uses conventional explosives to spread radioactive materials. Russia’s defense minister said in a series of calls with defense officials from other countries that it was Ukraine that was preparing to detonate such a device on its territory, an allegation that the United States and several allies called “patently false.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also said Thursday, after months of rising tensions, that he has no intention of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

“We don’t see the need for this,” Putin said, AP reports. “There is no political or military sense in this.”

Russia recently caused a wave of attacks using Iranian-made self-detonating drones around Kiev and other regions.

The Biden administration has promised 18 more HIMARS as part of a contracting process that will take “several years” to deliver to Ukraine, a senior defense official said last month.

Margaret Brennan and Eleanor Watson contributed to the report.