The latest round of military aid deliveries from the US to Ukraine will include Stinger man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to a US Pentagon spokesperson, as potential Russian war crimes in the country are uncovered.
Speaking to assembled media at the US Department of Defense on April 4, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the deliveries were part of a previously announced $800m drawdown package in military aid for Ukraine. Items included in the drawdown package are typically drawn from current US military stocks.
Specifically, Kirby said that shipments were arriving “over the course of the weekend”, with another expected over the following 24 hours which would prioritise equipment such as Javelin anti-armour missiles, Stinger MANPADS, and unnamed UAVs. On March 16 CNN reported that Switchblade loitering munitions – UAVs fitted with an explosive warhead – would be delivered to Ukraine.
