A Pentagon official said on Wednesday that billions of dollars in security assistance, including weaponry, that the US has delivered to Ukraine in recent weeks have arrived at unprecedented speed.
The aid package was announced on Tuesday. The US Defense Department said it was meant to meet an urgent Ukrainian need for additional Javelin anti-armor systems.
A package of security assistance was announced on April 1 and a package of security assistance was announced on March 16.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the US has provided over two billion dollars in security assistance to the country.
John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, emphasized the speed with which assistance has been delivered.
Kirby said that aid packages can be as little as four days when the president signs them, and then they can be put in storage for a week or two.
The first delivery from the $200 million package approved on March 12 arrived six days later and the first delivery from the $800 million package approved on March 16 arrived on March 20, according to a senior US defense official.
Kirby said that they are able to get this material because they are being so careful about how they are moving. That is incredibly fast.
A $350 million package of security assistance that was approved on February 26 was completed in three weeks.
Kirby said that such deliveries have never been done that fast before.
The US procures items from US firms through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which authorized the April 1 package. Other packages have been approved for withdrawals from US stocks.
US officials say that anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons are best suited for the threats faced by Ukrainian forces. The US provided 1,400 and 4,600 Javelins in the March 16 package.
The $300 million package was announced on April 1 and included machine guns and bullets, medical supplies, secure communications systems, armored vehicles, night-vision devices, drones, and counter-drone systems.
Among the drones in the April 1 package were switchesblade tactical systems, a loitering munition, andkamikaze drones.
Kirby said that a small number of Ukrainian soldiers who have been training in the US since the fall have received training with the Switchblades.
We took the opportunity to give them a couple of days of training on the Switchblade so that they can go back home.
The lighter version of switchblades is designed to destroy infantry targets and the heavier version is designed to take out tanks and armored vehicles.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Tuesday that they would move as quickly as possible.
Kirby said the US would help the Ukrainians get additional ones if they need them, even though he didn't confirm that the two versions were being sent.
Kirby said they were going to be as careful as possible so that the flow could continue.
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