U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during the "African Lion" military exercise in the Grier Labouihi region in southeastern Morocco on June 9, 2021. (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Associated Press reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that the new U.S. $1.1 billion military aid package will include 18 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) and other weapons "to counter drones that Russia has been using against Ukrainian troops."
According to the AP, the announcement of the package is expected later on Sept. 28.
The U.S. has so far provided Ukraine with 16 HIMARS.
The Ukrainian military has been using the systems for precise strikes on Russia's military ammunition depots and supply routes in the occupied territories.
According to U.S. General Mark Milley, Ukrainian military has hit more than 400 Russian targets with HIMARS as of Sept. 8.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
"The government coalition rejects the imbecile proposal of the European Commission to stop the flow of Russian gas from 2028," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
Denmark and Sweden are open to help deliver U.S. weapons, including Patriot air defense systems, to Ukraine via NATO, countries' officials said on July 15.
U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks come after the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing undisclosed sources, that he asked President Volodymyr Zelensky whether Kyiv could strike Moscow or St. Petersburg if provided with long-range U.S. weapons.
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center's (AntAC) executive board and current member of the country's Armed Forces, was charged on July 11 with evading military service and fraud — an accusation he and his team reject.
"The stolen data includes confidential questionnaires of the company's employees, and most importantly, full technical documentation on the production of drones, which was handed over to the relevant specialists of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," a source in Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.
Following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing on July 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that mutual trust between the two countries had "deepened" and called on both sides to "strengthen mutual support on multilateral forums."
The chief executive of Euroclear told the FT that the EU's proposal would amount to "expropriation" — forced seizure — because if Russia demands the assets back in the future, they would not be available.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called upon the EU to take action against Ukraine's conscription practices in an interview with Origo published on July 15, amid an ongoing dispute with Kyiv over the death of a Ukrainian conscript of Hungarian ethnicity.
