What weapons US could provide Ukraine by the end of Biden’s term: Expert opinion
Photo: US President Joe Biden (Getty Images)
Following the announcement of sending anti-personnel mines and permission to strike deep into Russia, Ukraine may be provided with other long-range weapons, including those for F-16 aircraft, as Dmytro Zhmailo, executive director of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, told RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, it could be ATACMS missiles of a different modification than Ukraine already has, with an extended range of up to 300 kilometers. If they have not yet been transferred to Ukraine, they could be the next to be provided to Ukraine.
“But probably, first of all, after ATACMS, we are interested in air-to-ground and air-to-air missile weapons for F-16 aircraft. We have been talking about the AGM-158 JASSM missile,” Zhmailo said.
The commander of the United States European Command, Christopher Cavoli, has compiled a list of American weapons that would help Ukraine in the war against Russia, including the AGM-158 JASSM. In September of this year, Reuters' sources among American officials said that the United States was close to providing Ukraine with JASSM cruise missiles.
“AGM-158 JASSM is an air-to-ground cruise missile. The JASSM missiles are in service with the United States and several other NATO countries and close allies. The weight of its warhead is 450 kg, the range of the basic version is 360 kilometers, and the range of the ER version is 980 kilometers. If we take into account the total “inventory” of all purchases of JASSM missiles, this number can reach as many as 12 thousand units,” the expert said.
The likelihood that the delivery will be delayed due to perturbations in the Pentagon is low, Zhmailo believes.
“This is hardly possible from the point of view of American legislation. The money to help Ukraine has already been allocated by Congress. Providing assistance is actually a direct decision of Joe Biden. Based on reports from the White House, we can say that the US plans to spend all the remaining funds to help Ukraine,” he added.
The United States has pledged to provide Ukraine with $7.1 billion in military assistance under the PDA program and $2.2 billion under the USAID program until the end of Biden's term on January 20.
“We are more interested in the PDA because it is a supply of ready-made weapons from warehouses, and they will arrive much earlier than those ordered for production under the USAID program. After the last package of 7.1 billion dollars, 6.8 billion dollars remain. And there are 8 weeks to use them for the needs of Ukraine,” said Zhmailo.
As for the delay of supplies by those in the Pentagon who are already focused on Trump, this is also unlikely.
“According to recent media reports, Trump is unlikely to have many high-ranking allies among the Pentagon leadership. Otherwise, he would not have planned large-scale purges in the department after his return to the presidency,” Zhmailo summarized.
US assistance to Ukraine
On November 1, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new aid package for Ukraine. The previous package was given in response to the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, to the Kursk region.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States plans to provide Ukraine with a number of military packages worth between $500 million and $750 million between October and December.
On November 20, the United States announced another military aid package for Ukraine. The total cost of the weapons will be $275 million.
