White House concerned that race to get military aid to Ukraine could weaken US army – Washington Post
The Washington Post has reported that White House officials are concerned that the scramble to provide Ukraine with final military aid packages before Donald Trump takes office could erode the US army’s combat readiness.
Source: The Washington Post, citing sources in the White House
Details: Sources told The Washington Post that the race to use the remainder of the US$61 billion supplemental aid bill has the potential to strain the US military.
According to The Post, officials are particularly worried about the number of air defence missiles and certain types of artillery shells that are being sent to Ukraine.
One official said that both will be difficult to replace quickly, diminishing US military readiness for other potential hot spots in the Middle East and Asia.
A senior administration official told The Washington Post that the White House is weighing these conflicting demands as it moves forward with its plans to help Ukraine. "These are real trade-offs," he said.
However, the White House decided that despite the challenges to US stockpiles, it is better to send as much aid as possible to Ukraine given "all the repercussions that flow from the war in Ukraine" and "how autocratic states will learn lessons from this," the official said.
Other US officials said that in the long term, the gap between Russian and Ukrainian recruiting efforts will likely end up being far more important in determining the course of the war.
The Post reported one of the officials as saying that Ukraine’s exhausted military has been challenged by severely undermanned frontline units, as well as the slow pace of mobilisation and training, while Russia is able to expand its forces slightly, even as it sustains major losses.
Background:
- On 2 December, the US announced an additional US$725 million of aid for Ukraine.
- Earlier, US President Joe Biden requested that Congress fund an additional US$24 billion for military assistance to Ukraine and replenishing of American weapons stocks that had been transferred to Kyiv. However, the future makeup of the Republican-dominated Congress is resistant to this suggestion.
Support UP or become our patron!
