Photograph: Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty ImagesWhite House warns it has 'no money and almost no time' to help Ukraine
The government has already allocated $111 billion in military aid to Ukraine and is calling on Congress to approve additional funding
The White House said it has “no money and almost no time” to provide more weapons to Ukraine as it tries to repel a Russian invasion unless Congress approves additional funding and support.
Warning in a letter to Congress on Monday, leaders outlined how the government has already spent about $111 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
A Yale University historian says the West can break Ukraine's impasse by increasing military aid .Read more
“I want to be clear: Without action by Congress, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to purchase more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from the US military stockpile,” Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the letter. parts of which were published by Hill.
The latest call for money comes after the White House asked Congress in October to act on a request for $100 billion in additional funding, arguing it would “improve our national security and support our allies and partners.” /p>
The request names border agencies, Indo-Pacific allies, Israel and Ukraine. About $61 billion covered money for Ukraine, including $30 billion to resupply Defense Department equipment sent to support the country after the Russian invasion in February 2022.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Young said failure to provide more funding “will jeopardize Ukraine on the battlefield, not only jeopardizing Ukraine's gains but also increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories “.
Yang added that “there is no magic pot of funding that can meet this moment.”
U We're out of money – and time is almost up,” Young said.
According to her, the Pentagon has used 97% of the $62.3 billion it received as of mid-November. And the State Department spent all of the $4.7 billion in military aid it received, including money for humanitarian aid, as well as economic and civil security assistance.
“We have run out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This is not a problem for next year,” she added. “The time has come to help democratic Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. It's time for Congress to act.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week he was confident funding for Ukraine and Israel would be approved. But he said the two issues should be considered separately because Ukraine funding is tied to changes in U.S. border policy, a red line for many Democrats.
“Of course we can” I will not allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the need to provide assistance there,” Johnson said last week. “If Ukraine needs more help—which most members of Congress think is important—we must also work to change our own border policies.”
The most recent need to approve additional funding arose after an unpublished draft of the Pentagon's new defense industry report was leaked to Politico.
The National Defense Industrial Strategy, which is intended to be published in the coming week by the Pentagon, warned that the U.S. defense industrial base “does not have the capacity, capability, agility or resilience necessary to meet the full range of military production needs at speed and scale.”
It noted that the United States produces the best weapons in the world, but cannot produce them fast enough. “This mismatch poses a growing strategic risk as the United States faces the need to support active combat operations,” the study said.
Separately over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. have provided Israel with 100 bunker-busting bombs, approximately 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells since Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7.
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