Yesterday, the Department of Defense announced a $250 million aid package for Ukraine as its fight against a Russian invasion continues. Officials said this could be the final aid package if lawmakers don’t act.
“We would, again, continue to urge the passage of the supplemental that we’ve submitted,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a recent briefing.
What’s the status of further aid to Ukraine?
Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers blocked a spending bill that would provide funding for Ukraine, per a report from The New York Times. They demanded new strict border restrictions in exchange.
“The failed vote highlighted waning support in the United States for continuing to fund Ukraine’s war effort at a perilous time in the conflict, with Kyiv’s counteroffensive failing to meet its objectives and Russia’s forces on the offensive,” said the Times.
Pew Research Center data released this month found that just 31% of Americans believe the U.S. is spending too much on assistance to Ukraine. However, close to half of the Republicans and Republican-leaning independents polled (48%) said the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine.
“Partisan differences over Ukraine aid have grown wider,” said Pew.
According to the Department of Defense, negotiations continued this week regarding the aid package.
“In a recent letter to lawmakers, DOD comptroller Michael J. McCord said the department would be obligating the remaining $1 billion in funds authorized by Congress to replace U.S. inventories of weapons provided to Ukraine by the end of this month,” said the department. “The security assistance package announced today is likely the last until Congress authorizes additional funds.”
President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month and has said that the U.S. will not walk away from Ukraine as it fights off the invasion called for by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has asked lawmakers to approve the additional funding.
“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine,” Biden said. “We must prove him wrong.”
Austin also stressed that the war in Ukraine has implications beyond Europe.
“Ukraine matters profoundly to America’s security and to the trajectory of global security in the 21st century,” he explained. “That’s why the United States has committed more than $44 billion in security assistance to Ukraine’s brave defenders.”
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What’s in the latest package?
In the 54th tranche of equipment provided to Ukraine since August 2021, the U.S. provided additional air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment. This package includes the following:
· Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)
· Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
· Air defense system components
· Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
· 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds
· Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
· Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
· More than 15 million rounds of small arms ammunition
· Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing
· Spare parts, medical equipment, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment
“Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security,” said the Department of Defense. “It deters potential aggression elsewhere in the world, while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating highly skilled jobs for the American people.”
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