To support Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders, the US is providing the country with additional military aid worth US$400 million (€410.13 million). This was announced by the US Department of Defense on Friday in Washington. US military support for Kyiv has totaled $18.9 billion since US President Joe Biden took office in early 2021.

According to the Pentagon, most of the weapons and equipment – worth $18.2 billion – have been pledged since the Russian invasion in late February. The new package included 45 refurbished Soviet-designed T-72 main battle tanks, Pentagon Deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. The tanks come from the Czech Republic. The Netherlands, in turn, also provided 45 tanks of this type. In total, 90 T-72 main battle tanks would be delivered to Ukraine. The trilateral agreement with the Czech Republic and the Netherlands on the delivery of the T-72 tanks is a direct result of the deliberations of the so-called international Ukraine contact group, through which arms deliveries to the country are coordinated.

Singh said Ukraine was familiar with Soviet-designed tanks. On the other hand, introducing a new main battle tank to the battlefield would be extremely expensive, difficult and a great challenge for the Ukrainian troops. Some of the T-72 tanks should be delivered before the end of the year, with the rest in the new year.

The spokeswoman also announced that the US was establishing a “Ukraine Security Assistance Group” at its Wiesbaden location to further coordinate long-term support for Kyiv. This is subordinate to the European US command.