The new aid comes just a week after the United States announced it would send $1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.A truck fires Lockheed Martin's High Mobility Artillery Rocket System at military exercises in the desert in Yakima, Washington.WASHINGTON — The United States is sending another $450 million in military aid package to Ukraine, including medium-range rocket systems, officials said Thursday.The new shipment will include the HIMARS artillery rocket system.The four HIMARS previously sent to Ukraine are already in the hands of troops there.The new package will also include ammunition and other supplies.The aid comes just a week after the United States announced it would send $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine and as Russian troops continue to slowly expand their control of eastern Donbas.Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly called for the most advanced rocket systems to better repel Russia.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the package before the formal announcement.Russian troops captured two villages in eastern Ukraine on Thursday and are fighting for control of a major highway in a campaign to cut off supply routes and encircle Ukrainian forces, according to Ukrainian and British military officials.Russia has been shelling the city of Sievierodonetsk for weeks with artillery and air strikes and fighting Ukrainian soldiers from house to house.HIMARS systems give Ukraine the ability to attack Russian forces and weapons from a greater distance.The systems are mounted on trucks, which carry a container with six guided rockets that can travel 70 kilometers (45 miles).It took three weeks for Ukrainian forces to train troops to use the first four HIMARS before they could be deployed in combat.The aid is part of $40 billion in military and security assistance approved by Congress in May and signed by President Joe Biden.Since the start of the war in February, the United States has dedicated more than $6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, including the new package.Copyright Diario las Americas.All rights reserved