Russian invasion
USA announces emergency military package for Ukraine
Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor. photo
© Evan Vucci/AP/dpa
Kiev has been waiting for military supplies from the USA for several months. But domestic political disputes are blocking further aid. The US government is now scraping together funds for a new package.
After a months-long pause, the government of US President Joe Biden has released an emergency aid package with military equipment for the Ukraine announced. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday at the White House in Washington that the planned package was worth 300 million US dollars (275 million euros) and included, among other things, a large number of artillery shells.
It comes from funds that the US Department of Defense saved through negotiations on previous arms purchases. This means a “modest amount” is available. But Sullivan emphasized that the new ammunition could only help Kiev for a short time. “It is far from sufficient to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs and will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the coming weeks,” he said, urging: “Congress must act.”
Long-term solution is missing
The USA is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the fight against the Russian invasion. Since the war began in February 2022, Biden’s government has provided more than $44 billion (around 40 billion euros) in military aid to Kiev. The US Department of Defense recently announced a military aid package for Ukraine at the end of December. Since then, Kiev has been waiting for new financial commitments and additional weapons and ammunition from the USA. The background is a domestic political blockade in the US Congress, where Republicans have so far refused further aid to Kiev. The funds previously approved by Congress have been used up.
There is no long-term solution in sight. Republicans in the US House of Representatives continue to block billions in aid for Ukraine that Biden had already requested from Parliament in October. The US Senate has now passed an aid package for Kiev worth around 60 billion dollars (around 55 billion euros), but the approval of the other chamber of parliament is still pending and there is currently no movement in this direction in the House of Representatives.