A load of more than 60 Bradley fighting vehicles departed South Carolina for Ukraine last week as part of the latest $2.5 billion package in military aid that the Biden administration announced earlier this month.
The armored vehicle, named after World War II Gen. Omar Bradley, is operated by three crew members and can transport up to seven infantry around the battlefield.
It’s outfitted with a 25mm automatic cannon, as well as a 7.62 Coaxial Machine Gun and an anti-tank missile launcher.
Bradley fighting vehicles being loaded on to the ARC Integrity at the Transportation Core Dock in North Charleston, South Carolina.
(U.S. Transportation Command photo by Oz Suguitan)
Bradley fighting vehicles in South Carolina on Jan. 25 before departing for Ukraine.
(U.S. Transportation Command photo by Oz Suguitan)
“The Bradley is a very powerful vehicle that we are providing to the Ukrainians,” Army Lt. Col. Rebecca D’Angelo, the 841st Transportation Battalion commander who is overseeing the transport, said on Monday.
“This is going to hopefully enhance their capabilities to provide forward advancement in the battlefield and regain lost grounds, by having equipment that matches or exceeds what the Russians have.”
UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR: GERMANY AGREES TO SEND 2 BATTALIONS OF LEOPARD 2 TANKS AFTER HEAVY PRESSURE
After months of resistance, the Biden administration agreed to send 31 Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine last week.
Germany, the United Kingdom, and other allied partners also announced they’d be sending their own tanks to help fend off Russia’s invasion.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Army M1A1 Abrams tank fires during NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group military exercise Crystal Arrow 2021 in Adazi, Latvia March 26, 2021.
(REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo)
The U.S. has also sent 90 Stryker combat vehicles, about 1,700 Humvees, dozens of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, and other armored vehicles.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, renewed calls last week for the U.S. and Germany to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
DONETSK, UKRAINE – JANUARY 07: Ukrainian soldiers work with “pion” artillery in the northern direction of the Donbass frontline as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk, Ukraine on January 7, 2023.
(Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Russia, meanwhile, is growing increasingly wary of support for Ukraine by the U.S. and Europe.
“There are constant statements from European capitals and Washington that the sending of various weapons systems to Ukraine, including tanks, in no way signifies the involvement of these countries or the alliance in hostilities in Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week, according to Reuters.
“We categorically disagree with this, and in Moscow, everything that the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct involvement in the conflict.”
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
