WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is warning Congress that it’s operating low on cash to switch weapons the U.S. has despatched to Ukraine and has already been pressured to decelerate resupplying some troops, in keeping with a letter despatched to congressional leaders.
The letter, obtained by The Related Press, urges Congress to replenish funding for Ukraine. Congress averted a authorities shutdown by passing a short-term funding invoice over the weekend, however the measure dropped all assistance for Ukraine within the battle towards Russia.
Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord instructed Home and Senate leaders there’s $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion Congress offered to replenish U.S. navy shares which were flowing to Ukraine. The weapons embody tens of millions of rounds of artillery, rockets and missiles critical to Ukraine’s counteroffensive geared toward taking again territory gained by Russia within the warfare.
As well as, the U.S. has about $5.4 billion left to offer weapons and gear from its stockpiles. The U.S. would have already run out of that funding if the Pentagon hadn’t realized earlier this 12 months that it had overvalued the gear it had already despatched, liberating up about $6.2 billion. A few of that has been despatched in latest months.
McCord mentioned the U.S. has fully run out of long-term funding for Kyiv via the Ukraine Safety Help Initiative, which providesmoney to contract for future weapons.
“We have now already been pressured to decelerate the replenishment of our personal forces to hedge towards an unsure funding future,” McCord mentioned within the letter. “Failure to replenish our navy providers on a well timed foundation might hurt our navy’s readiness.”
He added that with out extra funding now, the U.S. must delay or curtail air protection weapons, ammunition, drones and demolition and breaching gear which can be “vital and pressing now as Russia prepares to conduct a winter offensive.”
President Joe Biden mentioned Sunday that whereas the help will hold flowing for now, time is operating out.
“We can not underneath any circumstances enable America’s help for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden mentioned. “We have now time, not a lot time, and there’s an awesome sense of urgency.”
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser on the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research, mentioned if the help does not hold flowing, Ukrainian resistance will start to weaken.
“If there is not any new cash, they are going to begin feeling it by Thanksgiving,” he mentioned.
The short-term funding invoice handed by Congress lasts solely till mid-November. And McCord mentioned it might be too dangerous for the Protection Division to divert cash from that non permanent funding invoice to pay for extra support to Ukraine.
Many lawmakers acknowledge that profitable approval for Ukraine help in Congress is rising harder because the war grinds on and resistance to the help from the Republican hard-right flank positive aspects momentum.