The US has been one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014

Ukraine will purchase a second consignment of United States Javelin anti-tank missiles and launch units, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The US has been one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region that has killed more than 13,000 people.

Contracts for the deal were signed in the fourth quarter of 2019, the defence ministry confirmed in a statement, without giving further details.

A first shipment of Javelin systems worth around $47m arrived in Ukraine in April 2018 after the US State Department gave the green light for the deal.

Kyiv and Washington believe the system will improve Ukraine’s long-term defence capacity.

Last week, US President Donald Trump signed a bill that envisages providing $300m in military aid to Ukraine in 2020.