Despite the absence of a decision by Congress to allocate additional funding for Ukraine, some military equipment and ammunition continues to flow to Ukraine from the United States through contracts that were concluded earlier.
The Pentagon announced this at the request of the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, artillery shells, missiles for HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, air defense equipment and a number of other military equipment are supplied to Ukraine.
However, for new military aid packages, it is necessary for congressmen to allocate money.
The latest arms package for Ukraine was announced by the United States on December 27 last year.
However, the Pentagon can fulfill certain previous obligations to Kyiv thanks to the existing contracts under the USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) program, the funding for which was allocated earlier.
Unlike the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows the United States to quickly supply weapons to Ukraine directly from its own warehouses, USAI provides for the order of equipment from manufacturers.
This program was used to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the long run.
At the moment, all funding for it has been exhausted, and there are no funds left for new procurements from the Pentagon until they are approved by Congress.
According to U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Jeff Jurgensen, each USAID contract has a certain period of execution, production time and supply.
"In many cases, for example, with 155-mm ammunition, NASAMS air defense systems, Javelin and Stinger ATGMs, GMLRS missiles for HIMARS, a number of UAVs and anti-drone countermeasures − the production and supply of this to Ukraine, as well as replenishment of U.S. reserves continues in accordance with the terms of these contracts," the official said.
For security reasons, the Pentagon did not provide accurate information about the amount of equipment or the specific timing of its delivery to Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the U.S. House of Representatives decided to take a break until February 28, without voting for a bill on financial assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects that the United States, despite the electoral process, will continue to support Ukraine and, in particular, will decide on the provision of financial assistance.
U.S. President Joe Biden said at a press conference on February 16 that ‘history is watching the House of Representatives.’
According to him, the inability to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten, ‘it's going to go down in the pages of history.’
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.