The United States plans to send Excalibur precision-guided artillery munitions to Ukraine in the future, Politico said on Sunday, citing a source familiar with the discussions on the next tranche of military assistance to Ukraine worth $775 million, which was announced on Friday, August 19.

According to the interlocutor of the publication, Excalibur shells were not included in the above tranche.

This will give the Ukrainians a new precision-guided weapon that can be used to hit dug-in Russian positions and command posts.

A senior administration official told Politico this week that the United States is supporting Ukraine in targeting Russian positions in Crimea and other occupied territories. "We do not select targets, of course, and everything we have provided is for self-defense purposes. Any target they choose to pursue on sovereign Ukrainian soil is by definition self-defense," the official said.

According to the publication, the $775 million tranche, which will go to Ukraine a few days before Independence Day, includes new drones, armored vehicles and artillery. "The shipments indicate that Washington and Kyiv expect hard fighting on the ground in the coming weeks," Politico said.

For the first time, the United States is sending Ukraine 15 ScanEagle surveillance drones, some 40 MaxxPro heavily armored anti-mine vehicles, TOW guided anti-tank missile systems, 16 105-mm howitzers and 36,000 rounds, as well as 2,000 rounds for Carl Gustaf compact anti-tank melee guns. The United State is also shipping more high-speed anti-radar missiles that target Russian radar systems, which is key in undermining Russia's ability to detect new Ukrainian movements and control its forces.