Pentagon informs Congress it is low on money to replace outgoing weapons to Ukraine
Mike Brest
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The Department of Defense warned Congress that it is running low on funding to replace the weapons it provides to Ukraine.
In a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) dated last Friday, Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord acknowledged the precarious situation DOD finds itself in with dwindling money available.
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Without additional funding, the department would “have to delay or curtail assistance to meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements, including for air defense and ammunition that are both critical and urgent now as Russia prepares to conduct a winter offensive and continue its bombardment of Ukrainian cities,” McCord wrote.
Of the $25.9 billion Congress has allocated for the replenishment of depleted U.S. stockpiles, there is only $1.6 billion remaining, while McCord also noted that the United States has completely run out of long-term funding for Kyiv through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. USAI involves the DOD paying defense contractors to produce the weapons that will be provided to Ukraine once they’re built, which means these packages are the more long-term avenue to provide Ukraine aid, as opposed to when the Pentagon gives Ukraine weapons from existing stockpiles.
“Failure to replenish our military services on a timely basis could harm our military’s readiness,” McCord added.
The U.S. has roughly $5.4 billion left to provide weapons and equipment from its stockpiles, but the department would’ve already run out of that funding if DOD hadn’t realized an accounting error that freed up $6.2 billion.
The military has begun slowing down the replenishment of its stockpiles to “hedge against an uncertain funding future,” given the possibility of a government shutdown that has been averted for about six weeks. Congress passed a 45-day continuing resolution without Ukraine aid in it on Saturday.
As lawmakers sought to prevent a government shutdown this weekend, continuing to allocate funding for Ukraine was a major sticking point for a vocal minority of the Republican Party in Congress who no longer believe the U.S. should keep up its assistance.
House Republicans took out funding for Ukraine from the continuing resolution to get it passed. In a measure that failed prior to the CR that passed, 93 Republicans voted for an amendment that would have prohibited security assistance to Ukraine, indicating the scope of the anti-Ukraine aid sentiment in the caucus.
President Joe Biden urged the House GOP to hold a stand-alone vote on Ukraine aid as he signed the CR to prevent a government shutdown.
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“I hope my friends on the other side keep their word about support for Ukraine. They said they’re going to support Ukraine in a separate vote,” he said. “We cannot, under any circumstance, allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted.”
The Senate will also take up the topic of funding for Ukraine assistance because it was left out of the CR.