Captions will look like this

At the White House on Wednesday, President Biden announced an additional package of military assistance to fight the Russian invasion of the country.

Yahoo NewsYahoo News

On Wednesday, the White House announced a new $800 million military support package for the country of Ukraine. Experts say cutting-edge aerial drones could prove to be extremely lethal to Russian forces.

President Biden said that the list of weapons to be shipped included 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small arms and 100 tactical drones. A U.S. official confirmed to ABC that the drones would be small.

The Switchblade 600 and the 300 are the two variations of the drones. The 600 is built to strike armored vehicles and tanks, while the latter is built to hit smaller targets.

The 300 can fly up to 15 minutes and is less than 2 feet long. The larger drones can fly for 40 minutes over a 25 mile range. Both can be carried in a backpack. It is not known if the models will be included in the shipment.

Switchblade 600.
Switchblade 600 drone. (AeroVironment)

The drones can cruise at around 65 mph and come with cameras and gps systems according to its manufacturer. They explode after hitting their target and are not recovered after they have been launched. If civilians appear near the target or the enemy withdraws, the Switchblades have a feature that can be used to stop the mission.

Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, told ABC News that these were designed for the U.S. Special Operations Command.

In the early stages of the invasion, Ukraine's drones proved to be vital. According to Jack Watling of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, Ukraine used drones to strike Russian forces before they could set up their air defenses.

Watling said that the Ukrainian army drones have been flying in at a low level and then coming up and raiding with them. There are striking targets of opportunity.

A senior defense official claimed that the drones would be useful in taking out Russian long-range missiles as Russia ramps up the bombardment of major cities in Ukraine.

An illustration of a Switchblade 600 drone launch. (AeroVironment)
An illustration of a Switchblade 600 drone launch. (AeroVironment)

The official told reporters this week that the tactical drones can be useful against Russian vehicles.

The Times of London reported on Friday that an elite Ukrainian drone unit had destroyed dozens of Russian targets as they slept. Since the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24, the Aerorozvidka unit within the army has been striking vehicles.

Yaroslav Honchar, the unit's commander, said from his base in Kyiv that they strike at night when Russians sleep.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to do more in the fight against Moscow when he addressed Congress on Wednesday. Zelensky invoked the horror of the 9/11 terror attacks as he pleaded for more military aid.

_____

What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.

Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
See more Yahoo Immersive Stories.
  • A White House list of weapons being sent to Ukraine as part of a new $800 million military support package was announced by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Unlike long-range Predator drones, which look similar to small planes and fire missiles at targets, the smallest Switchblade model fits in a rucksack and flies directly into targets to destroy its small warhead.

  • President Joe Biden says the US will give more weapons to the Ukrainians to fight against Russia. (March 16)

  • AdTheDaddest
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    Some of the best company responses will be seen on social media.

  • Princess Mako gave up her royal titles to marry Kei Komuro.

  • Matthew Hutchins said that his late wife Halyna Hutchins was unable to leave the country.

  • Despite three weeks of Russian bombardment, Ukraine has kept up a stiff defense of its cities by using Turkish-made drones to carry out pop-up attacks on the invaders with a lethal effectiveness that has surprised Western military experts. Turkey has sold the Bayraktar TB2 drones to more than a dozen countries, including Libya, and they are usually used in low-tech conflicts. Jack Watling of the London-based Royal United Services Institute said that the drones had carried out successful attacks in the early stages of the conflict with Moscow.

  • You can battle your way through a visually-stunning mythicalRPG realm with hundreds ofchampions from 14factions.

  • Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and former President Obama's onetime chief of staff, said in a statement that he feels a moral obligation to help host individuals who have evacuated Ukraine.

  • President Biden on Wednesday announced $800 million in new lethal aid for Ukraine, bolstering U.S. support to the ex-Soviet nation as it ends the third week fighting Russian forces. The US government has pledged $1 billion in military assistance for the troubled nation in the past week and a half.

  • Costs to ship grains and soybeans on the Mississippi River have soared to an almost eight-year high because of war in Ukraine and a lack of rain in Brazil.

  • This could be a killer. There is a new 2022,Blockchain contender.

  • A poll on Friday showed that many Germans would support a car-free day a week to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas imports. A Civey poll for WELT shows that 48% of Germans would support a weekly car-free Sunday to help reduce imports of Russian oil, which leaves many Germans with a sense of guilt that their driving habits are bankrolling President Putin. German petrol and diesel prices went up in February.

  • Burger King's parent company tried to suspend operations in Russia, but the local operator refused to comply.

  • Three Tennessee National Guard members are safe and accounted for, despite a Russian newspaper's false report that they were killed fighting in Ukraine. Wayne Hall, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, said in a phone interview Friday that no U.S. military personnel are currently on orders in Ukraine. The Russian newspaper Pravda published a story and claimed that the three Americans, who it identified by name and asmercenaries, had been eliminated.

  • AdPost Fun
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    The only ones who can defeat the legendary Thanos are the superhero and villains of the Marvel universe.

  • Putin was handed one of his most comprehensive defeats by Ukrainian forces in a small town.

  • After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an emotional plea to the U.S. Congress for more military aid, President Joe Biden laid out a wide range of weapons and equipment that America will provide to help Ukraine beat back the Russian invasion. A key element of that was Biden's vow to help Ukraine get long-range air defense systems that aren't made in America, a likely reference to the Russian-made S-300s or similar surface-to-air missile systems which other NATO

  • In the fourth week of the war, Russian forces continue to push forward with their invasion of Ukraine as Ukrainian forces continue to defend their country.

  • Few know that Amazon has millions of Prime subscribers.

  • There are more than 18,000 cryptocurrencies in existence and counting, more than triple the number of US stocks.

  • There is damage at the Kherson International Airport. Russian forces captured the city on March 2.

  • A senior Treasury official said on Friday that the volume of transactions is too small to help Moscow evade sanctions. The current state of digital assets would not be large enough to run an economy on, and that the ecosystems is too underdeveloped for individuals to effectively evade sanctions using such assets.

  • AdPawszilla
    • Why this Ad?
    • Go ad-free*

    Don't tell them what to do.

  • The Kremlin said a technical problem with a server interrupted coverage of Putin's speech on state television. In a speech at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Putin said that all of the Kremlin's aims would be achieved. Many of the Russian slogans used at the rally incorporated the Z symbol used by Russian forces in Ukraine.

  • Russia warned the United States on Thursday that it had the power to take over the pre-eminent power in the world. The United States tried to force Russia to its knees by stoking Russophobia, according to the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council.

  • It's not Lemon Heads, it's the burning hole in my pocket thanks to a Joe Biden presidency.