Last month, Congress managed to avoid a government shutdown with a temporary measure, but President Joe Biden’s request for another aid package for Ukraine was rejected – The NY Times.
Congress approved about $113 billion in response to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Nearly $62 billion of that amount went to the Department of Defence to contract with domestic arms manufacturers to make up for equipment sent to Ukraine from its own stockpiles.
If Congress does not approve further aid increase, Ukraine will be left without support for some time. However, Biden could still receive about $5.6 billion from military reserves due to a Pentagon accounting miscalculation that overestimated the aid already sent to Ukraine.
According to the State Department, the $500 million allocated in June was enough to fund Bradley and Stryker vehicles, air defence ammunition, artillery, multiple rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, anti-radiation missiles and precision air munitions.
A further $32.5 billion of this amount channelled through the World Bank allowed Kyiv to fund pensions, schools and other social institutions amid the wartime economic crisis.
US and European officials have argued that Europe could make up for some of the losses, especially in economic and humanitarian needs, if US aid were to stop altogether. Lawmakers are also divided over whether to provide the emergency military support requested to help Israel in its war against Hamas, in part by reducing support for Ukraine.
