What all includes in US’ $2.8-billion weapons package to Ukraine?

The 50 Bradley fighting vehicles are definitely going to add to the war capabilities of Ukraine. The US has paid more than $21 billion to Ukraine under various defence packages last year too. But can Russia be defeated with these additions?

New Delhi, Jan 7: The US government is trying to arm Ukraine more and more so that it could resist Russia. The arming exercise started a long time ago, even before the Russian invasion. However, the latest addition of military aid is the largest one in terms of value. The weapons package worth more than $2.8 billion to Ukraine includes the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

According to the New Yorker, the US administration under Joe Biden has been proactively arming Ukraine. Earlier, the US Air Force transport planes carried crates of arms even before the country was attacked. Even before Zelensky knew or prepared for the war, it was the Biden government that tried to warn him over and over again.

American interests in Ukraine war

The New Yorker also claims that in various conversations with Biden, Zelensky told him that the talks on impending Russian invasion were impacting the Ukrainian stock market. He did not want the news stories floating in the market about the Russian invasion. From the outset, it appears it was in the interest of America that Ukraine goes to war zone.

Now, all these military aids worth billions seems to be the US idea to keep fuelling the Ukraine war. The 50 Bradley fighting vehicles are definitely going to add to the war capabilities of Ukraine but can Russia be defeated with these because the US has paid more than $21 billion to Ukraine in 2022 in various defence packages and nothing seems to be working. But the question is: Will this help Ukraine win the war?

Can Russians be defeated with Bradley FVs?

Interestingly, the Bradley fighting vehicles are named after a US general who commanded troops during World War II. These were actually developed to match the USSR's BMP family of infantry FVs. These vehicles generally carry three soldiers but some versions could also carry more than three and up to seven soldiers.

Needless to say, the advanced Bradley is a tracked, medium-armoured vehicle armed with an installed 25mm gun and turret-mounted gun. At the same time, it carries a tube-launched and optically-tracked, wireless-guided (TOW) missile launcher as well. These features make it capable of killing enemy tanks effectively.

President Biden is of the view that with the Bradleys, Ukraine would be able to fight well against the invading Russia. Apart from Bradleys, the US is also expected to send Humvees, trucks and munitions in the upcoming defence package for Ukraine. How will this be taken by Russia is yet to be seen.