Weekly Ukraine war summary: Russian armed forces cut into Ukrainian defenses near Ocheretyne, U.S. announces largest aid package of the war

The Russian military captured a German Leopard 2 tank in relatively good condition and evacuated it to the rear. This comes 10 months after Ukraine's first loss of such a tank. A Russian serviceman from the maintenance base was quick to disparage the NATO tank, criticizing its “excessive automation” in a comment given to state-owned channel RIA Novosti.

Weapons and military equipment

This week, the months-long epic involving the U.S. Ukraine aid funding bill finally came to an end. Following approval by the House of Representatives last week, the act passed the Senate on Tuesday and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. The Pentagon almost immediately announced a $1 billion military aid package to Ukraine, designed to at least partially meet Ukraine's pressing needs for air defense and artillery ammunition, anti-tank guided missiles, and armored vehicles. The weapons are to be transferred from existing U.S. stockpiles under the PDA mechanism.

This “stabilization” package was followed by an even more sizable package, the largest during the war, representing various orders to U.S. defense industries under the USAI program. In addition to ammunition, it includes SAMs for Patriot and NASAMS air-defense systems used for the protection of Ukrainian cities, as well as anti-drone equipment and components designed to facilitate Ukraine’s domestic UAV production.

For a more detailed assessment of U.S. military aid, read The Insider's breakdown.

In addition to the U.S., the UK also announced a major aid package to Ukraine, pledging to provide, among other things, 400 various armored fighting vehicles and support vehicles, 60 motorboats and boats, and 1,600 missiles, including SAMs and Storm Shadow / SCALP-EGs. It was later revealed that the package would include Paveway IV laser-guided aerial bombs.

Meanwhile, a drama is unfolding around the delivery of long-range air defense and ballistic missile defense systems to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba say that (1, 2) at least seven Patriot or SAMP-T class systems are needed for the country's air defense. These systems should at least cover major Ukrainian cities and their infrastructure facilities. However, neither the United States nor its European partners are in a hurry to part with their air defense capabilities, fearing for their own national security (and the United States also needs them for covering its own and allied facilities around the world). Aside from Germany's earlier promise of a Patriot battery, the only progress made so far was Spain's promise to supply an unspecified number of missiles for the system.

On the other side, Ukrainian observers have noted the appearance of American 203-mm artillery ammunition being used by the Russian side — most likely supplied from Iran and compatible with the Pion/Malka Soviet self-propelled cannon. The Russians have also begun using robotic electronic warfare vehicles and net-throwing drones to intercept enemy UAVs. They have also been seen welding anti-drone shields onto assault motorcycles.