U.S. DOD announces new $125-million package for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative

The US U.S. Department of Defense has announced a new $125-million package for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which includes training, equipment, and advisory efforts to help Ukraine’s forces preserve the country’s territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO. 

According to Pentagon Press Secretary John Francis Kirby this action aims to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression.

The package will include two Mark IV** armed patrol boats that’ll help Ukraine defend its territorial waters.  That will include some training, equipment, and advisory efforts from us. 

“This would now make our commitment a total of eight patrol boats, two in F.Y. ’21 and F.Y. ’20 and then four through military financing with State”, Kirby  said.”we obviously continue to encourage Ukraine to continue to enact reforms, to modernize the defense sector in line with NATO principles and standards, and we obviously stand committed to helping assist Ukraine in implementing these reforms on civil-military control and leadership and proper — proper management of the — their — their defense.”

There are no Javelin missiles included in this package, Kirby pointed out.

 The class of armed patrol boats being provided to Ukraine is “Mark VI”.  The Mark VI patrol boats announced today are committed to Ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), authorized by the FY21 NDAA.  The Defense Department committed two Mark VI patrol boats last year under the FY20 NDAA.  The State Department has previously announced four additional Mark VI patrol boats under Foreign Military Financing, separate from USAI.