The White House announced another aid package to Ukraine on Friday, this time for $425 million. The money will be spent mainly on ammunition and artillery, but also on transport and winter equipment. With cold weather upcoming, the war with Russia is also expected to cool down somewhat. Congress is expected to soon begin debating a larger outlay of money, although aid to Israel is still being negotiated.
According to Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for the Biden administration, the intention is to increase Ukraine's defense capacity for as long as possible, since Congress has not yet begun debating another aid package.
Israel's war with Hamas caused Capitol Hill to take a pause from Europe and focus on the Middle East. The House of Representatives has already given its approval to the legislation proposed by the Republican leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, although it is unlikely to make it out of the Senate.
In turn, the Pentagon indicated on Friday that it "calls on Congress to meet its commitment to the people of Ukraine by passing additional funding to ensure Ukraine continues to have what it needs to defend itself against Russia's brutal war of choice."
Washington's delay in funding is causing the United States to exhaust the last of its resources to send to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Following the latest authorization from Congress, the Biden administration still has around $5 billion of presidential withdrawal authority to export to its ally.
Johnson spoke about this on Thursday and announced that he will seek to approve the package once the a decision on funding for Israel is made in Congress. In addition, he warned that it will be linked to policy changes that would tighten restrictions on the southern border.
Where will the $425 million go?
According to the Department of Defense, $300 million will be provided to the Ukraine Security Assistance initiative, through which the sale of weapons, such as laser-guided munitions to counter drones, will be completed.
Another $125 million would go straight to defense initiatives, including 3 million rounds of ammunition for small arms and grenades, 12 transport trucks, winter equipment, demolition equipment, ammunition for missile defense systems, rockets, projectiles, and 155mm and 105mm artillery.
