The Pentagon has warned the US Congress that it is running out of money to replace the weapons that the US sent to Ukraine. Replenishment of some troops has already slowed down.
This is stated in the letter of the comptroller of the Ministry of Defense of the country Michael McCord to the leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate, published by the "Associated Press".
The letter contains a call to Congress to renew funding for Ukraine. Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding bill over the weekend, but it ended all aid to Ukraine.
According to McCord, $1.6 billion remained of the $25.9 billion allocated by Congress to replenish the US military stockpile heading to Ukraine.
Itʼs about millions of artillery shells and missiles, which are necessary for the offensive of the Defense Forces. Also, the Pentagon has about $5.4 billion left for the supply of weapons and equipment from its stocks.
The publication notes that the US has completely run out of long-term funding for Kyiv within the framework of the Initiative to Promote the Security of Ukraine, which provides money for concluding contracts for future armaments.
"We have already been forced to slow down our own recruitment to hedge against uncertain future funding. Failure to replenish our military forces in a timely manner could harm the combat effectiveness of our Armed Forces," he noted.
McCord added that without additional funding, the U.S. would be forced to delay or reduce the transfer of air defenses, ammunition, drones and other equipment.
Shutdown avoidance
The Senate of the US Congress, following the House of Representatives, approved a bill on temporary funding of the government for 45 days. It does not provide for an additional aid package for Ukraine. One hour before October 1, US President Joe Biden signed this bill.
If the interim budget was not approved by midnight on October 1 (07:00 Kyiv time), then a shutdown would come, and the US government would partially suspend work. This could slow down the flow of military aid to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots, as part of the civil servants would be sent on forced leave.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said that the situation with the temporary budget of the United States will not stop the flow of previously announced support to Ukraine. Currently, the Ukrainian authorities are working with American partners regarding new aid funds.
- The WSJ, citing sources, writes that the Pentagon has another $5.2 billion in funds for providing military aid to Ukraine. This amount is equivalent to the cost of weapons that the Biden administration sent to Ukraine in the last six months. The publication adds that the $5.2 billion "was found" after officials discovered an accounting error in May, "which essentially gave the US Department of Defense more money for Ukraine than it anticipated." The error occurred due to a discrepancy in the Pentagonʼs assessment of the supplied weapons. The Pentagon also has about $1.6 billion, which it uses to replenish its own stockpile of weapons.