The U.S. will provide up to $250 million in arms and equipment to Ukraine in the final package of aid this year to help Kyiv in its war with Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The 54th tranche of weapons to be drawn off Department of Defense shelves and sent to Ukraine includes air-defense munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, and anti-armor munitions, the State Department said.
The announcement came as President Joe Biden pressed Congress to approve his $61 billion request for more aid to Ukraine and funds for Israel and Taiwan. Still, Republican demands for stricter border security have held up the White House’s effort. Those demands have made it difficult to find a path forward on a massive spending bill that could be signed into law before the end of the fiscal year on December 31.
Blinken, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington last week to discuss the need for more assistance, said the administration would take steps to “expand the reach of our support to Ukraine through this drawdown of equipment and ammunition from existing authorities.” He added that the American people support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s “full-scale invasion,” and the White House has been working hard to find a way to increase support as the battle lines solidify across much of Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer front line.
Pentagon officials have told lawmakers that the United States could run out of funding to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine by the end of this year unless it takes no action. The administration warns that a lack of additional aid will significantly impact Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s incursion, which began in February 2022.
Newsweek has learned that the new weapons will be provided to Ukraine through presidential drawdown authority. This mechanism allows the President to pull from existing Department of Defense stockpiles to provide military aid to a foreign country. A Pentagon spokesman said there is still about $1.1 billion in PDA funds available to replenish the equipment sent to Ukraine over the past year or so, and there is roughly another $4.8 billion in restored drawdown authority that can be used if needed.
