Nearly 300 new FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank system launchers and missiles have been delivered to Kyiv on Jan. 25 as part of the United States' skyrocketing military support to Ukraine amid the looming threat of Russia's all-out invasion.
Besides, the new delivery included SMAW-D anti-fortification weapons, also provided by the U.S. to Ukraine for free.
The third aircraft delivery over the last few days arrived in the Boryspil International Airport containing nearly 80 tons of cargo, according to Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
As of Jan. 25 night, none of the official sources specified the exact quantity of Javelin launch pads and missiles, or SMAW-D bunker-busters delivered in the latest round. The previous two shipments were delivered on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, respectively, also containing the same weapon types.
According to Defense Minister Reznikov, the fourth delivery of U.S. aid is expected to arrive in Kyiv in the nearest time.
The additional defense aid package worth $200 million was approved in late December as an emergency action to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's potential invasion. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken publicly announced it on Jan. 19 during his visit to Kyiv.
Apart from that, in the fiscal year 2022, the U.S. will provide $300 million in defense aid to Ukraine, including $75 million allocated on lethal weapons. In total, the U.S., since the outbreak of Russia's war in Donbas in 2014, has allocated nearly $2.7 billion on military assistance to Kyiv, including record-breaking $650 million in 2021 alone.
Moreover, amid the escalating Russian crisis, the U.S. government recently gave a go-ahead to the Baltic nations to provide Ukraine with American-made weapons from their own arsenals.
According to a joint statement of the three nations, aired on Jan. 21, Estonia pledged to send "dozens" of Javelin systems, while Latvia and Estonia vowed to transfer scores of FIM-92 Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft weapons, which have been repeatedly deemed most essential for repelling a Russian offensive by the Ukrainian defense expert community.
The drastic boom in foreign military support of Ukraine against Russian aggression followed the British decision to send nearly 2,000 advanced anti-tank grenade launchers NLAW to Kyiv, in a sharp expansion of its defense assistance of Kyiv.
In the following, some European nations, including the Netherlands, ceased opposing arms transfers to Ukraine. The Czech Republic on Jan. 21 said it fully supported Ukraine against Russia's aggressive action and said it contemplated providing Ukraine with 152-millimeter artillery rounds.
Nonetheless, Germany, which has demonstrated its fierce opposition to bolstering Ukraine's defenses in a looming big war, on Jan. 21 vetoed an Estonian initiative to transfer 122-millimeter D-30 field guns to Ukraine.
(Updated: )
