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The US has only one aid package left for Ukraine this month, a White House official says.
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John Kirby warned that after this package, key funding will dry up without Congressional approval.
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The Pentagon still has $4.4 billion to send US weapons, but the money to replenish those is limited.
The US will announce one more military aid package to Ukraine before the end of the year, a top White House official said on Monday. But after that, funding will dry up due to roadblocks in Congress that have stalled President Joe Biden’s request for more aid.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the Biden administration will provide one additional security assistance package before the month’s end. But it could be the last unless Congress can pass additional support.
“When that one’s done… we will have no more replenishment authority available to us, and we’re going to need Congress to act without delay, as we have been saying,” Kirby said.
While the Pentagon still has an additional roughly $4.4. billion in support that Biden can use, as Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed last week, that presidential drawdown authority aid comes directly from Defense Department inventories, and the weapons the Pentagon can send are limited by the funding available to keep US stockpiles replenished.
Further aid for Ukraine, specifically a $111 billion package that was introduced in October and also includes assistance to Israel, has met several roadblocks in Congress, where Republicans are debating a potential deal for stricter immigration and border policies. Biden has said that he’s willing to make compromises on those issues in order to get aid passed, but there’s been no movement yet.
Congress is still divided as time runs out to approve new aid to Ukraine by the end of the year. As GOP Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Republicans “feel like we’re being jammed.”
“We’re not anywhere close to a deal,” the senator said. “It’ll go into next year.”
On Monday, Kirby noted that continuing to support Ukraine remains in the US’ best interests and should be prioritized.
“Ukraine still needs our help,” he said, “and it’s well past time for Congress to act, to stand up for freedom and democracy, and defense of our own national security interests, which are very much at play here.”
A similar sentiment has been expressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told US Senators last week that if Ukraine loses, the outcome won’t lower Russia’s threat to other neighboring countries or satiate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hunger, but instead increase it.
The risk of Russia invading other nations, potentially including some NATO members, will only grow larger, Zelenskyy warned.
Leading experts have argued that without vital Western aid, which has helped keep Ukraine in the fight, Kyiv could lose the war with Russia.
On the battlefield, Kyiv’s forces have been defending against a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine over the past two months. Moscow’s relentless assault has left it with over 13,000 casualties and hundreds of lost combat vehicles, but these attacks are also putting pressure on the Ukrainians, which are rationing ammo and scaling back operations amid concerns over the fate of Western aid.
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