U.S. to send Ukraine $300 million arms package as further aid stalls

“It is assistance that Ukraine desperately needs to hold the line against Russian attacks and to push back against the continued Russian onslaught in the east and in other parts of Ukraine,” Sullivan said.

Ukraine’s momentum in the war, now in its third year, has begun to flag as its front-line units face dwindling weapons supplies and Russian forces make a renewed push to break through defensive positions. In his State of the Union address last week, Biden implored lawmakers to pass legislation that would unlock an additional $60 billion to assist the government in Kyiv, but the bill, which also includes money meant to help Israel and counter China, has stalled amid a bitter debate in the Republican-led House.

The Biden administration has approved the transfer of more than $44 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to invade in February 2022, but money approved by Congress ran dry in January, Biden administration officials had said.

In a separate briefing, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, called the move an “extraordinary measure” as Ukraine faces an “existential fight.”

“But this does not change the fact that we urgently need Congress to pass DOD’s supplemental request,” Ryder said. “Today’s … package, while providing urgent capabilities to Ukraine’s forces, is nowhere near enough, and the only way to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs is for Congress to swiftly pass the supplemental.”

Ryder, asked why the Pentagon did not disclose before now that this money was available for Ukraine, said that defense officials identified the amount only in the last few weeks. He declined to say when exactly the additional aid will be delivered, but predicted it will be “fast.” The additional aid will likely last “weeks,” Ryder said.

CIA Director William J. Burns, appearing on Capitol Hill this week alongside other senior U.S. intelligence officials, told lawmakers that with undisrupted infusions of American military aid, “Ukraine can hold its own on the front line” into next year, and continue to attack Russian targets both beyond its borders and in the Black Sea. Without U.S. weapons, he warned, the Ukrainians stand to lose “significant ground.”

“The Ukrainians are not running out of courage and tenacity,” Burns said. “They’re running out of ammunition. And we’re running out of time to help them.”