The United States will send 40 armored riverine boats to Ukraine as part of the latest assistance package.
The riverine boats are part of a $400 million aid package announced Friday. It’s the second time the U.S. is sending riverine boats to Ukraine as part of ongoing assistance in response to the Russian invasion.
The aid assistance package does not detail the type of riverine boats the U.S. is sending to Ukraine. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh did not provide details but said that how the riverine boats will be used is up to the Ukrainian forces.
The U.S. previously sent 18 riverine boats in June. Metal Shark sent six of those boats, USNI News previously reported. Six patrol boats are already operating in the Black Sea, Naval News reported.
Also part of the package announced Friday are 45 refurbished T-72B tanks.
On Friday, a Russian drone struck a Ukrainian Gyruza-M-class patrol boat, Naval News reported. The ship appeared to get hit by a Lancet loitering munition. While neither Russia nor Ukraine have provided details as to where the Ukrainian patrol boat was operating, Naval News reported it was possibly in the Dnieper River.
While Russia has the more technically capable navy, Ukrainian forces have been able to keep Moscow’s Black Sea fleet largely ineffective with the threats of anti-ship missile attacks. In April, the Ukrainian Navy sunk the Russian Black Sea flagship RTS Moskva (121) after hitting it with a pair of Neptune anti-ship missiles. On Oct. 29, Russian ships operating near the Crimean peninsula were attacked by unmanned surface and aerial drones resulting in suspected damage to the guided-missile frigate RTS Admiral Makarov and another ship.
