News

By the numbers: US military aid to Ukraine

by Ellen Mitchell and Nick Robertson - 02/25/23 3:00 PM ET

Correction: Annual spending on the Iraq war was approximately $120 billion per year on average between 2003-2019. A previous chart had incorrect information.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched just a year ago, has resulted in a stunning amount of U.S. military assistance for the war-torn country.

It’s set off a deep political debate over how much support the U.S. should offer, though so far there’s been more agreement than disagreement about offering aid to Ukraine.

Here’s a look at the numbers behind the spending that shows what U.S. dollars are being used for and how it compares to other federal spending.

$77,500,000,000

Total U.S. spending earmarked for Ukraine from January 2022 to January 2023.

How that stacks up to big ticket non-military items:

$29,300,000,000

Cost of United States military assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, 2021. Click here to see what equipment it funded.

$45,000,000,000

Total additional emergency funds, from the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, “to advance Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security, and capacity to cope with the ongoing humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s attacks.”

$1,900,000,000

Humanitarian assistance to support the displaced, including refugees, and other vulnerable populations and communities both inside Ukraine and throughout the region.

$4,000,000 each

Approximate unit cost of a HIMARS rocket launcher system (plus more than $100K per missile). The U.S. has sent more than 20 HIMARS to Ukraine so far.

$10,000,000 each

Baseline cost of an M1 Abrams tank. The U.S. finally agreed to send 31 of the tanks to Ukraine last month, though they could take months to arrive.

International support for Ukraine, in billions

$77.5

United States

$58.2

European Union

$16.5

Rest of the world

$13,000,000,000

Budget support to the Government of Ukraine (GOU) through World Bank mechanisms.

Source: Kiel Institute

What the U.S. has spent on Ukraine so far vs. other military engagements:

Highlights of how the $29.3 billion in military aid breaks down:

Infantry arms/equipment

More than 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems
Over 50,000 other anti-armor systems and munitions
More than 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems
2,590 TOW missile
13,000 grenade launchers and small arms
Over 111,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition
More than 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets
Thousands of surveillance systems, night vision googles, thermal imagery systems etc.
C-4 and other explosives for obstacle clearing
Mines and mine clearing equipment
More than 350 generators

Air Defense

8 NASAM systems
12 Avenger air defense systems
HAWK air defense system missiles
Laser-guided rocket systems
One Patriot air defense battery and munitions
RIM-7 missiles for air defense
High speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs)

Manned aircraft

20 Mi-17 helicopters

Drones

More than 700 armed Switchblade drones
1,800 armed Phoenix Ghost drones
VAMPIRE Counter-unmanned aerial systems
15 ScanEagle unarmed aerial systems
Puma unarmed aerial systems

Coastal Defense

2 Harpoon coastal defense systems
58 coastal and riverine patrol boats
Unmanned coastal defense vessels
RIM-7 missiles for air defense

Radar, communications and satellite services

4 satellite communication antennas
2 radars for drones
10 air surveillance radars
More than 50 counter-artillery radars
4 counter-mortar radars
Tactical secure communications systems

Artillery and ammunition

160 155mm Howitzers and up to 1,094,000 artillery rounds
72 105mm Howitzers and 370,000 artillery rounds
38 HIMARs systems
30 120 mm mortar systems and ammunition
100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition
10,200 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems
65,000 152mm artillery rounds
50,000 122mm GRAD rockets
30 120mm mortar systems and about 166,000 rounds
545,000 rounds of 25mm ammunition
20 60mm and 82mm mortar systems

Ground support vehicles

More than 1,700 Humvees
109 Bradley Fighting vehicles
298 tactical vehicles to tow weapons
34 Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment
30 ammunition support vehicles
44 trucks
88 trailers
10 command post vehicles
More than 100 light tactical vehicles

Tanks and Armored carriers

45 refurbished T-72B tanks (sent from the Czech Republic)
300 M113 armored personal carriers
250 M117 armored security vehicle
580 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs)
100 armored medical treatment vehicles
31 MaxxPro MRAP vehicles
31 M1 Abrams tanks
90 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers
6 armored utility trucks

Timeline of U.S. spending and aid deployment

Since Russia first attacked Ukraine a year ago on Feb. 24, the United States has directed nearly $50 billion in assistance to the war-torn country, including humanitarian, financial, and military support. A timeline of aid deployment:

Feb. 24, 2022: Russia attacks Ukraine after Kremlin troops amass for weeks along the country’s border.
Feb. 25, 2022: U.S. pledges its first military aid package to Ukraine, $350 million in weapons that includes Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
March 11, 2022: Ukraine takes possession of 5 Mi-17 helicopters pledged by the U.S. in January, with more on the way.
March 16, 2022: U.S. pledges sending Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems – armed drones that are launched from the ground and Kamikaze their targets – to Kyiv along with more Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-tank weapons and more as part of an $800 million package.
April 13, 2022: U.S. expands the types of weaponry it’s giving to Ukraine in $800 million arms package that include Howitzers, artillery, unmanned boats for coastal defense and other equipment not part of prior aid packages. Foreseeing the war will stretch longer than initially expected, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks sits down with defense CEOs from top firms including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems and more to discuss the industrial impact on weapons production for Ukraine.
April 21, 2022: Pentagon announces Phoenix Ghost attack drones to Ukraine as part of a $800 million lethal aid package.
May 31, 2022: Administration officials reveal US is sending Ukraine High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as part of a $700 million package. The weapon is the first advanced, long-range rocket system sent to Ukraine, with rounds that can fire roughly 50 miles away. The systems give Kyiv more precision on far away targets than previously sent artillery.
June 15, 2022: U.S. announces it will provide two vehicle-mounted Harpoon coastal defense systems, intended to defend coastlines, as part of a $1 billion military aid package to Kyiv.
July 1, 2023: Defense Department unveils an $820 million weapons package to include two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), air defense systems that can hit targets up to 100 miles away and are used to protect the skis above Washington, D.C.
Aug. 8 2022: U.S. confirms it has sent AGM-88 High Speed Radiation Missiles (HARM) to Ukraine.
Aug. 19, 2022: Pentagon announces it would send Ukraine TOW anti-tank missiles for the first time as well as Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems as part of a $775 million security assistance package.
Aug. 24, 2022: U.S. commits VAMPIRE Counter-unmanned aerial systems – which uses small missiles to shoot drones out of the sky – as part of a $2.98 billion weapons package.
Nov. 4, 2022: The Pentagon announces it will for the first time fund tanks – specifically T-72 from the Czech Republic – sent to Ukraine as part of a $400 million military assistance package.
Dec. 21, 2022: U.S. announces it will give Ukraine a Patriot surface-to-air guided missile defense system as part of a larger $1.85 billion security assistance package. The system – designed to hit mid- and high-altitude targets such as missiles, fighter jets, bombers and drones – is considered a major gain for Ukraine as it had been begging Western officials for the system for months.
Jan. 6, 2023: Administration announces it will send M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle to Ukraine for the first time as part of a $3.75 billion new military assistance package.
Jan. 15, 2023: Ukrainian troops arrive at Fort Sill, Okla., to begin training for several months on Patriot systems.
Jan. 19, 2023: Pentagon announces $2.5 billion package to include hundreds of additional armored vehicles – including for the first time Stryker armored vehicles.
Jan. 25, 2023: U.S. agrees to send Ukraine 31 M1 Abrams tanks worth $400 million, changing course after initially insisting the vehicle was not appropriate for the fight and shoring up an agreement with Germany to send its Leopard tanks to the conflict.
Feb. 3, 2023: The most recent U.S. lethal aid tranche to Ukraine, worth nearly $2.2 billion, includes for the first time the ground-launched small diameter bomb, a bomb-tipped rocket with a range of 90 miles.