Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has finally received some much-needed military air from the United States.
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan announced the Biden administration’s $300 million package of military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday, March 12, Knewz.com has learned.
President Biden’s White House said the money was made available as a result of savings in weapons contracts. Sullivan explained per CNN that unanticipated cost savings came because of “contracts that DOD [Department of Defense] negotiated to replace equipment we’ve already sent to Ukraine through previous drawdowns.”
He added, “When Russian troops advance, and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back. That’s costing terrain. It’s costing lives. And it’s costing us, the United States and the NATO alliance, strategically.”
Zelensky expressed his thanks on X: “I thank [President of the United States] Joe Biden, his administration, Congress and the American people for the $300 million military aid package that addresses Ukraine’s immediate needs for artillery, antitank weapons and air defense.”
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced that the package includes “Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, additional ammunition for HIMARS, 155-millimeter artillery rounds, including high explosive and dual-purpose improved cluster munition rounds, 105-millimeter artillery rounds, AT4 anti-armor systems, additional rounds of small arms ammunition, demolitions, munitions for obstacle clearing, spare parts, maintenance and other ancillary equipment.”
Zelensky wrote on X that 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, Stingers, HIMARS munitions and antitank systems are “critical on the battlefield and in protecting peaceful cities and infrastructure. Every round of ammunition saves the lives of Ukrainians who face daily attacks by Russian occupiers.”
Upon announcing the $300 million weapons package, Biden urged Congress to end a gridlock that has further funding for the U.S. ally in flux over politics.
“We must act before it literally is too late, before it’s too late, because as Poland remembers, Russia won’t stop at Ukraine,” Biden said alongside the Polish prime minister and president. “Putin will keep going, putting Europe, the United States the entire free world at risk in my view.”
Zelensky echoed Biden’s please to Congress.
“I value the implementation of our agreements with President Biden. We anticipate that Congress will approve the supplemental as soon as possible to help us advance our joint victory,” he wrote.
On Wednesday, December 27, the U.S. Department of State announced its final 2023 package of weapons and equipment for Ukraine, which provided up to $250 million of arms and equipment to its NATO ally, Knewz.com reported.
At the time, the Defense Department “exhausted” available funding to send more aid to Ukraine without Congressional approval, the Pentagon wrote in a letter to Congress.
The newly announced additional aid comes at a crucial time for Ukraine. As Knewz.com reported on Monday, March 11, the Kremlin is producing nearly three times more artillery munitions than the U.S. and Europe.
CNN, citing NATO intelligence estimates and sources involved with Western efforts to arm Ukraine, reported that Russia is producing approximately 250,000 artillery munitions each month, which equates to about 3 million per year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Europe are producing 1.2 munitions annually to arm Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.
The U.S. previously set a goal to produce 100,000 munitions to Ukraine each month, but that pales in comparison to Russia’s production.
Even adding $60 billion in Ukraine funding — which is hung up in Congress — would not put Ukraine’s munitions on pace with Moscow.
“What we are in now is a production war,” a senior NATO official told CNN. “The outcome in Ukraine depends on how each side is equipped to conduct this war.”
With more production, Russia is firing off more weapons daily than Ukraine. Officials say Russia has been firing 10,000 shells a day, compared to 2,000 a day from Ukraine.
But even with more aid available from the U.S., it will only provide ammunition to last Ukraine “a couple of weeks,” Sullivan said. It will “not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the weeks to come.”
“It goes without saying, this package does not displace and should not delay the critical need to pass the bipartisan national security bill,” Sullivan said.
The post Biden Administration Scrapes Together $300 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine After Funding Ran Out Months Ago appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: David Wetzel
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