US says 4 plane loads of Ukraine military aid land in Europe

Four planeloads of military assistance for Ukraine have landed in Europe in the past 24 hours, a senior Pentagon official said Wednesday.

The shipments include 155mm Howitzer artillery systems and associated ammunition, announced last week as part of US President Joe Biden's additional $800 million military aid package.

Additional Howitzers and artillery rounds are expected to arrive within the next day, and the US is currently training about 50 Ukrainian troops on the long-range artillery systems outside Ukraine, said the official. The training is expected to last for about a week.

About 40,000 rounds are expected in total as part of the aid package.

There have been five military aid deliveries in "the last few days," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. An additional half-dozen flights are expected to land in short order with additional military equipment, she added.

The rush of military assistance comes as Ukrainian officials have sounded the alarm that Russia has begun an offensive on eastern Ukraine after pulling out of the north amid a stalemate there.

US officials have been warning that the coming stages of the war will look far different than earlier ones and Psaki said the next phase will be more heavily focused on long-range exchanges of fire between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The US has not specified which variant, or variants, of the Howitzer it is providing. But the M177 and M198 models are towed by a vehicle.

The M177 has a maximum range of 19 miles (30 kilometers), depending on the type of round, while the M198 has the same maximum range but is about 7,000 pounds heavier, according to the army.