The new funding announced by Jake Sullivan became available as a result of savings made in weapons contracts
The United States (U.S.) has announced another package of U.S. $ 300 million for Ukraine to help them fight the invading Russian forces.
The announcement was made by the White House National Security Advisor – Jake Sullivan. The new funding became available as a result of savings made in weapons contracts.
The newest package would include stinger anti-aircraft missiles, additional ammunition for HIMARS, 155-millimetre artillery rounds, including high explosive and dual purpose improved cluster munition rounds, 105-millimetre artillery rounds, AT4 anti-armour systems, additional rounds of small arms ammunition, demolitions, munitions for obstacle clearing, spare parts, maintenance and other ancillary equipment.
The U.S. released its last military package of U.S.$ 250 million in December 2023. Another U.S. $ 61 billion bill has been blocked by the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. The Republicans, openly encouraged by the Former President if the U.S. – Donald Trump, say they will not allow the bill to clear the final hurdle in the House of Representatives without first agreeing on additional funding for U.S. border security.
The President of the U.S. – Joe Biden, said that the package is “not nearly enough” and Congress needs to pass additional funding.
Speaking on the package, Biden said, “We must act before it literally is too late, before it’s too late, because as Poland remembers, Russia won’t stop at Ukraine,” Biden said, speaking alongside the Polish prime minister and president. “Putin will keep going, putting Europe, the United States the entire free world at risk in my view.”
Sullivan said, “When Russian troops advance, and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back. That’s costing terrain. It’s costing lives. And it’s costing us, the United States and the NATO alliance, strategically”
This aid package falls under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which is pulled directly from U.S. stocks and can be shipped quickly to Ukraine. The U.S. has had approximately U.S. $ 4 billion in drawdown authority left to send to Ukraine. But the Pentagon was reluctant to use that funding, because there was no replenishment money left to refill the US inventories.
Sullivan said the new package was possible because of unanticipated cost savings in contracts that the Department of Defence negotiated to replace equipment they had already sent to Ukraine through previous drawdowns.
The U.S. also made it clear that it is not a sustainable long-term solution to provide much-needed weaponry to Ukraine as Republicans in the House refuse to approve the bill.
