US works on workaround for nearly US$6 billion military support to Ukraine – Politico

US President Joe Biden’s administration is working on a plan to extend its authority to send US$5.9 billion worth of US weapons and equipment to Ukraine before funding expires at the end of the month.

Source: European Pravda; Politico

Details: The authority, which is part of an aid package to Ukraine approved in April, allows the Pentagon to use its own stocks for the rapid transfer of weapons and equipment to Ukraine. The funds are then used to replace this equipment in US arsenals, but these authorities will end with the beginning of the new fiscal year on 1 October.

This new workaround requires the administration to state that it will use the remaining assistance in the coming months, allowing the Pentagon to continue supplying weapons to Kyiv. However, the US will not be able to provide new types of equipment that have not been included in previous deliveries using this method. 

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Charlie Dietz said "the deliveries can go beyond the [fiscal year] without issue" if done in a timely manner.

This issue arose again on Sunday when Speaker Mike Johnson revealed details of his proposed three-month funding package, which did not include an extension of the authority regarding Ukraine. 

The Biden administration has asked Congress to carry over the unused US$5.9 billion in presidential drawdown authority for weapon transfers to the next year. These funds are a key tool for Washington to arm Ukraine.

Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said that if the administration decides to allocate these funds within the next week, the non-use of this authority is not "really a problem".

"From what I understand … as long as the White House tells us they’re going to use it, we don’t really have a problem," Rogers said.

Ken Calvert, Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, similarly stated in an interview: "I understand there’s already a workaround the Biden administration plans to employ. I’m not quite sure how they’re going to do it, but I’m told they are."

This alleviates one major headache for Johnson, who would likely have lost support among some conservative sceptics in the Republican Party regarding assistance to Ukraine if he had included provisions for aid to Ukraine in the temporary resolution. Johnson, who expended his political capital this spring on a vote for a US$95 billion aid package for Ukraine, the Middle East and Taiwan, is relying on Democrats to provide enough votes this week to pass a bipartisan interim deal and bypass the hard-right opposition.

Nonetheless, dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives have been pressuring Johnson in recent weeks to include wording in the resolution to increase aid.

One such lawmaker, House Committee on Foreign Affairs member Gregory Meeks, emphasised the importance of providing aid to Ukraine ahead of difficult winter battles in a brief interview on Tuesday, 24 September. 

"They’re going to try to work around it, the administration will, because [the Ukrainians] need the resources right now so they can carry out their ‘Victory Plan’, which I think is tremendously important," Meeks said.

Meeks said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he met on Monday, 23 September, at the United Nations General Assembly, is likely to raise this issue in meetings with President Biden and during Zelenskyy's visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday, 26 September. 

The speed of US deliveries will also be an important issue for the Ukrainian leader. The Biden administration has allocated about US$400 million per month in military aid on average, but officials in Kyiv have been frustrated by how long it takes for some of this equipment to actually reach the battlefield.

This week, the US is expected to announce a new aid package for Ukraine worth US$375 million and, as part of the package, is considering providing Ukraine with medium-range missiles for its new F-16 fighter fleet. The package will also include missiles for HIMARS launchers, patrol boats and air defence systems, making it the largest package the US has sent to Ukraine since May. This is also likely to be the last use of the presidential drawdown authority for weapon transfers before the end of the US fiscal year on 30 September.

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