The US said military aid with 18 howitzers, 200 armored vehicles had arrived at the Ukraine border

A shipment of US military aid to Ukraine – Photo: REUTERS

The AFP news agency quoted the official as saying that four shipments from the US arrived at the Ukrainian border on April 17, and a fifth shipment would depart soon.

The above weapons include 18 155mm caliber howitzers, 40,000 rounds of artillery shells, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, 11 Mi-17 helicopters and 100 multi-purpose armored vehicles. This is the first time the US has sent howitzers to Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the first shipment arrived at the Ukrainian border 48 hours after US President Joe Biden authorized Washington to deliver military aid to Kiev. Mr Kirby described the shipping as happening at “unprecedented speed”.

In addition, Kirby also said that the troops deployed to the eastern flank of the territory of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since Russia launched the military operation in Ukraine will begin training soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers how to use howitzers “in the next few days”.

A Pentagon spokesman stressed that the artillery training would take place outside of Ukraine.

“There will be a small number of Ukrainian soldiers trained on how to use howitzers, and then they will return to their home countries to teach their colleagues,” Kirby added.

According to AFP, although the way the US artillery is handled is not much different from the familiar Ukrainian military artillery, the howitzer Washington sent this time is for the 155mm caliber, which is popular in the member countries. NATO members, while Ukraine still uses Russian-made 152mm cannon.

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced additional military aid of $ 800 million to Ukraine, including heavy artillery.

According to Interfax news agency, Russia has also warned the US of “unforeseen consequences” if Washington continues to arm Ukraine.

“We call on the US and its allies to stop irresponsibly militarizing Ukraine, which will have unpredictable consequences for regional and international security,” a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement. last week.