White House says aid to Ukraine is running out
(Baonghean.vn) - White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said one of the major programs providing US aid to Kiev has now run out.
According to RT news agency, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House is running out of money to finance the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and called on Congress to approve US President Joe Biden's request to provide more aid, which has been opposed by Republicans.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on November 4, the spokesman said the Pentagon has announced new arms transfers to Ukraine. The latest package, worth $425 million, includes HIMARS and NASAMS missiles, artillery shells and other military equipment.
Of this amount, $300 million comes from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which the Pentagon uses to sign contracts to provide new equipment to Kiev. The remaining $125 million comes from the US Presidential Withdrawal Authority (PDA), which allows the Biden administration to transfer weapons from US stocks without congressional approval in an emergency.
Jean-Pierre noted that the package “depletes the remaining funds USAI has to support Ukraine.”
She added that while the White House still has PDA authority to “meet Ukraine’s immediate needs on the battlefield,” the US is starting to provide Kiev with “smaller PDA packages to extend our ability to support Ukraine as long as possible.”
With this in mind, she called on the US Congress to approve Mr. Biden's request for additional aid and send "an important message" to the world that the US continues to stand with Ukraine.
Last month, the Biden administration asked lawmakers to greenlight a security package worth more than $100 billion, including $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $14.3 billion for Israel. But some Republicans have opposed the Ukraine aid, accusing Biden of lacking a strategic vision for the conflict and insisting on greater accountability. They also insist that aid to Israel and Ukraine be handled separately.
On November 2, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed a bill to provide aid to Israel in its conflict with Hamas. The content of this content was strongly opposed by Democrats, with some even accusing their Republican colleagues of politicizing the issue. Another provision listed in the bill includes cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), also a plan that has no chance of becoming a reality for the Democrats.
Meanwhile, Mike Johnson, the newly appointed Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has yet to reveal a funding plan for Ukraine, only pledging that related discussions “will take place quickly.”
Russia has repeatedly warned the West against sending weapons to Ukraine, arguing that doing so would only prolong the conflict while drawing the United States directly into the fighting.
