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.