The US has offered Ukraine a new installment of military assistance, which amounts to approximately $300 million. This is the first time such a decision has been made since the end of last December. According to defense officials, this funding is a result of cost-cutting in procurement by the US Army.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the 55th presidential drawdown authority (PDA) package at the White House on Tuesday and said it would include artillery rounds and munitions for HIMARS, weapons desperately needed on the Ukrainian front lines where shortages abound.

Sullivan stated that this ammunition will temporarily maintain the firing capabilities of Ukrainians’ guns, but only for a brief duration.

The Pentagon’s press secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, stated that this package would include Stinger missiles for air defense as well as anti-armor systems. He also mentioned that the package would contain 155-mm dual purpose improved cluster munition rounds, which Army officials have confirmed are no longer in use.

Funds for this package were acquired through cost-effective contract actions over several months. Senior defense officials, who spoke anonymously before the White House announcement, disclosed that the Army was able to secure purchases at a lower cost than originally planned.

“This is a bit of an ad hoc or one-time shot. We don’t know if or when future savings will come in, and we certainly can’t count on this as a way of doing business,” one of the senior defense officials said.

One instance given by officials involved the Army’s initial projection of $130 for the cost of 25-mm rounds, but through negotiations, the price was lowered to $93.

The money saved was reinvested in the U.S. fund allocated for providing aid to Ukraine. This has occurred multiple times before, but it didn’t receive much attention as the fund was not depleted at the time, according to officials from the Department of Defense.

$10 billion shortfall

Despite facing a funding gap of approximately $10 billion for necessary U.S. military supplies, top officials from the Department of Defense have announced that an aid package will be delivered to Ukraine, highlighting the need for further Congressional funding to address this shortfall.

According to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, there are currently no expected substitutes for the supplemental funding [bill] or including the funds in an appropriations bill in order to meet our replenishment needs. She made this statement to reporters on Monday.

Officials from the Pentagon had anticipated receiving funding from the Biden administration’s supplemental request in order to restock depleted supplies. This request also included a substantial amount of aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, due to disagreements over spending and border security, Congress has not yet passed the supplemental aid bill.

Due to the fact that 15 months have passed since Congress last provided funding to aid Ukraine, government officials state that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has expressed worries about potential decrease in resources.

The department currently holds approximately $4 billion in the ability to supply weapons to Ukraine, however, there is no remaining approved budget from Congress to restock the Pentagon’s weapon reserves.

According to a senior defense official, we are able to withdraw funds from our stocks, but not being able to replenish them puts our preparedness in danger.

The deficit of $10 billion is connected to the Pentagon’s method of keeping track of the aid sent to Ukraine. In June of last year, the Pentagon admitted to overestimating the worth of weapons sent to Ukraine by approximately $6.2 billion in the previous two years.

According to officials who spoke to VOA, when determining the estimated aid provided, the Department of Defense included the expense of replacing weapons given to Ukraine, rather than the cost of the systems that were actually sent.

The mistake gave the Pentagon the necessary justification to provide additional assistance to Ukraine. However, the issue still persisted that more funds would be required to replenish the country’s military supplies with more modern and expensive weapons.

When VOA asked why the Pentagon was using its savings to provide more aid to Ukraine but not tapping into the $4 billion from the president’s drawdown authority, a senior defense official explained that Congress has not made it clear if they will approve more aid, which makes the Pentagon hesitant to increase their spending.

The defense official stated that Ukraine is currently in a difficult situation. However, they are not worsening the situation but rather maintaining the status quo.

Source: voanews.com