Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia at the Pentagon outlined Friday the details of a nearly $3 billion aid package for Ukraine, which will include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles. Cooper said the U.S. would provide 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, a medium-armoured combat vehicle that can serve as a fortified troop carried on the battlefield. It has tracks rather than wheels but is lighter and more agile than a tank. “The Bradley has formidable anti-armour capabilities that will work against every kind of armoured capability that Russia has fielded in Ukraine,” Cooper said. Cooper said it would take “a couple of months” before Ukrainian soldiers are fully trained and able to operate the Bradley fighting vehicles. She said the U.S. is expanding its training program to be able to train approximately 500 soldiers at a time over the course of a month. Also included in the aid package will be HUMVEES, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles or MRAPs and a large amount of missiles and other ammunition.
