President Joe Biden signed a new weapons package worth up to USD 400 million for Ukraine, including four additional high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) on Friday.
An unnamed senior US defence official said the additional HIMARS would bring the total number of these systems to 12.
The official added that all the HIMARS provided to Ukraine were accounted for after Russia’s defence ministry earlier this week said it had destroyed two HIMARS systems and their ammunition depots in eastern Ukraine.
The latest weapons package also includes more precise ammunition for howitzer artillery systems, which are available to the US military but had not been provided to Kyiv.
The United States started providing the key precision rocket weapon system to Ukraine last month after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside Russian territory.
As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, the US and diplomatic officials have told Reuters.
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