The Pentagon needs $10 billion to replace weapons in US military stockpiles that have already been sent to Ukraine, a Defense Department official has told POLITICO.
The $60 billion President Biden is seeking includes funding to replenish US military stockpiles. The Senate has approved the spending, which is part of a $95 billion foreign military aid bill, but it’s unclear if the House will bring it to the floor for a vote.
The official said that if the Pentagon doesn’t get the money, it would hurt the US military. “It would come back on our own readiness on our own stockpile to a certain extent if we can’t get new funding,” the official said.
US officials have said the Pentagon has been unable to give Ukraine any more military equipment this year. The Pentagon still has over $4.1 billion in presidential drawdown authority for Ukraine, which allows shipments directly from US stockpiles, but the authority hasn’t been used since there are no funds to replenish the weapons.
The last US arms package that the US provided Ukraine was announced on December 27. At the time, the Pentagon said it had pledged over $44 billion in military equipment for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. The US has spent at least $113 billion on the proxy war, which includes financial assistance and other types of aid for Ukraine.
Biden’s struggle to get more funding for the war and Ukraine’s failure on the battlefield demonstrates how time is on Russia’s side in the conflict. Ukrainian officials have also said that even if the West gives them all the weapons they need, they don’t have the troops to use them, as Ukraine is facing a significant manpower shortage.
Photo" Soldiers load a HIMARS from a U.S. Special Operations MC-130J aircraft during military exercises Sept. 26, 2022, at Spilve Airport in Riga, Latvia © Roman Koksarov / AP.
Source: AntiWar.
