US announces $275 million weapons program for Ukraine as US calls for loosening limits

The Pentagon announced a $275 million weapons package for Ukraine on Friday, as calls for loosening restrictions on the use of such weapons have grown in recent days.

The military aid package, the fifth since President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid bill in April and the 58th since 2021, will include artillery supplies, rocket launch system ammunition HIMARS, anti-tank weapons and other equipment, the Pentagon said.

In his announcement, the Pentagon called the package “an important new security assistance program to address Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs.”

Arming arrives as Ukraine faces the consequences of aid delayed by six months as Republicans attempted to leverage it in exchange for concessions on border security from the White House and Democrats.

Russia slowly continued advance in the east of the country and launched an offensive to bring the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, within artillery range. After some initial Russian progress, Ukraine claims to have stabilized the city's defense.

But Russia's staging of the attack from its side of the border, just 12 miles away from Kharkivhighlighted what a growing number of U.S. lawmakers see as unnecessary restraint toward Ukraine: U.S. demand that it not use U.S. weapons beyond the country's borders .

This restriction was seen as a way to avoid a military escalation between the United States and Russia, and Ukraine complied. But critics say the move toward Kharkiv shows the extent to which Russia is exploiting this restraint to its advantage.

Ukraine has relied on its own missiles and drones to defend its territory against artillery and missile attacks from across the border, and has seen Russia use the border to gather and deploy troops with a view to entering Ukraine.

“Are you going to change this policy so that Ukraine can fight without having one hand tied behind its back?” » Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a hearing Wednesday.

“When it comes to allowing and approving attacks outside of Ukraine, that is not something that we have done, but Ukraine will have to make and will make its own decisions,” Blinken said.

“They cannot win with these restrictions that you, not Congress, have imposed on them,” McCaul replied.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also appeared to lend his voice to this chorus on Wednesday, tell the journalists, “They must be able to fight back. And I think trying to micromanage the efforts there is not a good policy for us.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the Democratic leader in the House, sounded a softer but similar note Thursday.

Jeffries said the United States needed to provide “as aggressive support as possible” to Ukraine, but that the specific issue of cross-border strikes was “something to be resolved, at this time, between the Ukrainian government and the administration.” Biden.”

Johnson and Jeffries' comments came just days after Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, signed a letter with 12 other House members are calling for the restriction to be lifted.