Pentagon: Ukraine will have to make difficult defense ‘choices and decisions’ if U.S. does not pass aid package

If the U.S. does not pass a bipartisan national security supplemental, “Ukraine will have to make choices and decisions on what cities, what towns they can hold with what they have and what partners can continue to supply them,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a Feb. 20 press briefing.

“If we don't get the funding needed from the House to pass the Senate supplemental, we will not be able to provide these critical PDA (Presidential Drawdown Authority) packages.”

Ukrainians “are in a critical fight for their lives, for their country, and that's why you heard me say in very stark terms that's why we need the supplemental immediately. And we've been saying that and sounding these alarm bells since October,” she said, adding that Avdiivka was a strategic withdrawal that Ukraine made in order to conserve its own artillery and ammunition.

Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense warned that Avdiivka was on the verge of being captured by Russian troops and that Ukraine could lose even more ground in the future due to a critical shortage of ammunition and anti-aircraft defense systems.

Read also: Ukraine risks losing more ground beyond Avdiivka due to ammunition shortage – Pentagon

On Feb. 15, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson sent members on recess until the end of February without addressing an additional foreign aid package, a move criticized by the White House.

On Feb. 13, the U.S. Senate gave final approval to a bill providing $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with $60 billion allocated for Kyiv. The same day, Johnson criticized the Senate's proposal, and the following day stated that he would not put it to a vote yet.

The U.S. House of Representatives is unlikely to consider the bill allocating further assistance to Ukraine before mid-March, according to Rep. Michael McCaul, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Read also: U.S. Senate passes $95B aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, House approval awaited

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