Ukrainian President Will Show How US Military Aid Is Delivered to the United States
He is expected to go to Scranton Army Ammunition Plant to begin a busy week in the United States aimed at bolstering support for Ukraine in its fight, according to two U.S. officials and a third person familiar with Zelenskyy’s schedule, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public. He will also address the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and travel to Washington for talks Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Scranton plant is one of only a handful of manufacturing facilities in the country. 155mm artillery shell. They are used in howitzer systems, which are large, towed guns with long barrels that can fire at various angles. Howitzers can engage targets up to 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) away and are highly valued by ground forces for destroying enemy targets from protected distances.
Ukraine has received more than 3 million 155 mm artillery shells from the United States.
As the war entered its third year, Zelenskyy pushed the United States to allow the use of long-range missile systems to strike deeper into Russian territory.
So far, he has failed to convince the Pentagon or the White House to ease those restrictions. The Defense Department has stressed that Ukraine could have attacked Moscow with Ukrainian-made drones, and there is hesitation about the strategic implications of a U.S.-made missile capable of hitting the Russian capital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will “go to war” with the United States and its NATO allies if they allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
At one point in the war, Ukraine was firing 6,000 to 8,000 155mm shells a day. That pace began to deplete US stockpiles and raised concerns that the number on hand would not be enough to sustain US military needs if another major conventional war broke out, such as in a potential conflict over Taiwan.
In response, the United States has invested in restarting production lines and is now producing more than 40,000 155mm rounds per month, with plans to reach 100,000 rounds per month. During his visit, Zelenskyy is expected to meet and thank workers who have increased 155mm production over the past year.
The two Pentagon leaders who pushed for that production increase — Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, and Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer — are also expected to join Zelenskyy at the plant, as is Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa.
The 155mm rounds are just one of a slew of ammunition, missiles, air defenses and advanced weapons systems the United States has provided to Ukraine — everything from small arms ammunition to advanced F-16 fighter jets. has been the largest donor to Ukraineproviding more than $56 billion of the more than $106 billion that NATO and partner countries have donated in defense assistance.
Although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, many European countries see a commitment to Ukraine’s defense as imperative to deter Putin from further military aggression, which could threaten NATO member states bordering it and lead to a much larger conflict.
