The US Department of Defense calls on Congress to pass the $60 billion bill for Ukraine as soon as possible, because it needs exactly the resources included in this package.
This was stated by the spokesman of the Pentagon General Patrick Ryder, when asked by journalists about the possible use of the funds of the Ministry of Defense of the United States to support Ukraine outside the package under consideration in Congress.
"We continue to urge Congress to pass the supplemental as soon as possible so that we can support Ukraine in its time of need and of course replenish our own stocks," he said.
According to him, Ukraine "needs the full resources that are available in that package."
"Thereʼs really no other way to meet fully of their requirements on the battlefield," Ryder emphasized.
Aid from the USA
US military aid to Ukraine was exhausted at the end of 2023. Last year in October, Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for the allocation of $106 billion, of which more than $61 billion is intended for Ukraine, mostly for the purchase of weapons from the United States. The rest of the funds from the package were intended for Israel, aid to the Asia-Pacific region, humanitarian measures in the Gaza Strip, etc.
However, the request was not approved due to political disputes. For several months, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating a compromise bipartisan bill. In particular, the former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, called on the Republicans to sabotage the agreement, he believes that the US needs a separate bill on borders and immigration and it should not be tied to foreign aid in any way. Biden criticized Trump, saying that he threatened Republicans and tried to intimidate them.
After the failure of several versions of the agreement, on February 13, 2024, the US Senate supported a package bill that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but without an agreement on migration reform and border security. It must be approved by the House of Representatives, which went on vacation until February 28 without considering the document.