Washington, 20 January 2023 (dpa/MIA) – The US government on Tuesday announced a $2.5 billion Ukraine security package including, for the first time, Stryker armored personnel carriers, but no Abrams battle tanks.

The Department of Defense said the package, the second largest single package of its kind to date, includes 59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, among other things.

The announcement comes ahead of a meeting of some 50 of Ukraine‘s allies at the US air base in Ramstein in south-western Germany to discuss further military aid to Kiev scheduled for Friday.

Meanwhile, Washington said that it did not make sense to send Abrams main battle tanks to Kiev.

“It simply does not make sense to provide this asset to the Ukrainians at this time,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters in Washington on Thursday.

The Abrams main battle tank requires different fuel than, say, German-manufactured Leopard 2 tanks or British Challenger 2 tanks and is more costly to maintain, she said.

The package will bring total US military assistance for Ukraine to some $27.5 billion since the beginning of US President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the US Department of Defense. The United States is considered Ukraine‘s most important ally in its defense against the Russian invasion.