AP: Pentagon running out of money for Ukraine
Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord warned the U.S. Congress that diminishing funds for Ukraine could cause delays in critical weapons and supply shipments, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 2.
McCord said the U.S. has around $5.4 billion remaining to send weapons to Ukraine, and that long-term funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative is completely exhausted.
He also said that the U.S. is running out of funds to replenish its own military stockpiles after transferring weapons to Ukraine.
“We have already been forced to slow down the replenishment of our own forces to hedge against an uncertain funding future,” McCord said in a letter to Congressional leaders obtained by the Associated Press.
“Failure to replenish our military services on a timely basis could harm our military’s readiness.”
On Sept. 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to avert an impending government shutdown that did not include funding for Ukrainian aid. While President Joe Biden has said he believes lawmakers will eventually "secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine," the future of U.S. aid to Kyiv remains uncertain.
McCord said that gaps in funding will force the U.S. to delay sending defense supplies that are “critical and urgent now as Russia prepares to conduct a winter offensive.”
On Oct. 2, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the U.S. only has enough money to support Ukraine "in the immediate term."
Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Associated Press that funding delays would have an immediate impact on the Ukrainian military.
“If there’s no new money, they’re going to start feeling it by Thanksgiving,” he said.
Read also: With winter approaching, is Ukraine’s energy system ready for renewed Russian attacks?
This includes more than $43.9 billion since Russia’s launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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