US providing Ukraine $2.6 billion in military aid

The U.S. will send Ukraine about $500 million in ammunition and equipment and will spend more than $2 billion to buy an array of munitions, radar and other weapons in the future, U.S. officials said, as the Ukrainian troops prepare for a spring offensive against Russian forces. The ammunition rounds, along with grenade launchers and vehicles, will be taken from military stockpiles so they can be in the war zone quickly, the officials said. The $2.1 billion in longer-term aid, which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will buy missiles for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, as well as radar and other weapons, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been announced. An announcement is expected as soon as Tuesday. The new weapons and funding come as Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine with long-range missiles and the hotly contested battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut drags on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that unless his country wins that fight, Russia could begin building international support for a deal that could require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises. Zelenskyy said if Moscow’s forces take Bakhmut, then Russian President Vladimir Putin would “sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China, to Iran.” The latest U.S. package, with its mix of short-term and long-term aid, includes a wide variety of ammunition from Pentagon stocks, 23 million rounds of small arms ammunition and 200,000 grenades, as well as funding for more high-tech weapons, including counter drone rocket systems, air surveillance radar and satellite communications terminals and services. It brings the total amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $35 billion since Russia invaded in February 2022. Defense leaders testifying on Capitol Hill last week said the U.S. is prepar