After months of waiting, the Biden administration announced Tuesday that it will send emergency aid to Ukraine, totaling $300 million for weapons.
Today, we announced an emergency round of security assistance for Ukraine to address some of their most pressing security and defense needs. While this tranche will aid Ukraine’s efforts to hold the line against Russian aggression, the need for Congress to pass the national…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) March 12, 2024
According to the Associated Press, this is the first time since December that the Pentagon has been able to release aid after admitting to running out of replenishment funds. Recently, they acknowledged that they were overdrawn by $10 billion.
We’re pouring in more $$ and weapons to secure Ukraine’s border, while facing depleted weapons stockpiles at home & suffering a mass invasion of our own Southern border. We deserve an explanation of what the next $200BN sent to Ukraine will do for us that the first $200BN didn’t. https://t.co/Rlnta7Bi8K
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 13, 2024
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan reported that the funding came from “unanticipated cost savings from Pentagon contracts” and would help Ukraine defend itself, but not for long.
“This ammunition will keep Ukraine’s guns firing for a period, but only a short period. It is nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs, and it will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the weeks to come,” said Sullivan.
According to one U.S. official, the aid package is a “one-time shot” unless Congress can pass the spending bill, which has been stalled since December by House Republicans.
The aid agreement comes after an aid package for $95 billion was rejected by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). In that package that President Joe Biden and the Democrats claimed was a border security measure, Ukraine would have received almost $60 billion.
The Bipartisan "Boarder Bill" has been introduced
It includes 👇
– $60B of military aid to Ukraine
– $14B in military aid to Israel
– $20B for actual border security pic.twitter.com/vVUEG9MWtl— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@PelosiTracker_) February 5, 2024
For Ukraine, the $300 million package comes just in time as they are in dire need of munitions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pleaded with Congress for more aid. Republicans have refused to pass the aid package unless Biden and Democrats agree to a bill focusing efforts on the southern border.
Republicans in Congress must NOT support a spending bill next week that:
(1) fails to force border security on the Biden administration,
(2) incorporates the “Ukraine supplemental” passed by the Senate,
or
(3) reauthorizes FISA 702.
Items 2 & 3 must stand on their own.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 12, 2024
Republicans, however, are not as enthusiastic about sending more aid to Ukraine. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduced the Knudsen Defense Remobilization Act with co-sponsors Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to ensure that the U.S. maintains enough weapons to protect itself.
“America’s military stockpiles are dangerously low,” said Vance in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Joe Biden has spent two years sending more weapons to Ukraine than we’re capable of manufacturing, and it’s putting our national security at risk.”
“We’re woefully unprepared for any type of major conflict,” he added. “This legislation would recruit industry experts to identify the shortfalls of our military industrial base and outline necessary regulatory reforms to get defense production back on track.”
Since the Biden administration has been in charge, the U.S. has sent over $44.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, not to mention over $44.2 billion since Russia’s invasion in Feb. 2022.
