America running out of money to fund Ukraine’s defence

Washington: The United States is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war against Russia, White House officials have warned.

US President Joe Biden’s administration in October asked Congress for nearly $US106 billion ($160 billion) to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but Republicans who control the House with a slim majority rejected the package.

A Ukrainian soldier fires an anti-tank weapon in eastern Ukraine.Credit: AP

White House budget director Shalanda Young, in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders, said cutting off funding and a flow of weapons would “kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield” and increase the likelihood of Russian victories.

“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from US military stocks,” Young wrote in the letter released by the White House. “There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money – and nearly out of time.”

Congress has approved more than $US110 billion for Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, but it has not approved any funds since Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address senators via secure video on Wednesday (AEDT) as part of a classified briefing to hear what is at stake.

The House and Senate last approved $US45 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as part of a broader annual spending bill passed in December 2022.

Bipartisan talks about US border security funding, which Republicans want to link to Ukraine funding, have sputtered in the Democrat-controlled Senate, several sources said.

The House’s failure to consider the White House request has raised concerns that funding for Kyiv might never be approved, especially after it passed a bill in November with funding for Israel but not Ukraine. The Senate’s Democratic leaders rejected that bill.

Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024, has rallied NATO allies to back Ukraine and said repeatedly that Russian President Vladimir Putin underestimated the West’s resolve in supporting its neighbour against Russian aggression.

“Now it’s up to Congress. Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine … or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we’ve learnt from history and let Putin prevail. It is that simple,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

Young said US allies had stepped up their support for Ukraine, but that Washington’s support could not be replaced.

By mid-November, the US Defence Department had used 97 per cent of $US62.3 billion in supplemental funding it had received, and the State Department had used all of the $US4.7 billion in military assistance fund it had been allocated, she wrote.

About $US27.2 billion in economic aid money had been used up, as had $US10 billion in humanitarian assistance.

Young said helping Ukraine “prevents larger conflict in the region that could involve NATO and put US forces in harm’s way and deters future aggression, making us all safer.”

Reuters

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