Biden seeking additional $24B to support Ukraine, replenish US weapons stockpiles

President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to support Ukraine and replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles, two U.S. officials tell VOA, as the administration continued Monday to push out new aid packages from the last congressionally approved funds for Kyiv before Biden leaves office on January 20.

Officials who have seen the administration’s request, on condition of anonymity to discuss its details, told VOA, that the new support would include $16 billion to restock U.S. weapons under the Pentagon’s presidential drawdown authority (PDA), along with $8 billion to manufacture weapons under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which focuses on supplying Kyiv’s long-term defense needs.

“This funding not only supports Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty and degrades Russian military capabilities but also strengthens U.S. military readiness by modernizing our weapons systems and making direct investments in our defense industrial base,” a U.S. defense official told VOA on Monday.

The Biden administration submitted aid for Ukraine in an anomaly funding bill that also includes spending on other matters rather than in a separate supplemental funding request.

“We defer to Congress to determine the most appropriate vehicle for addressing this urgent need,” one official said.

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The U.S. announced Monday it was sending another military aid package to Ukraine valued at up to $725 million, its 71st tranche of equipment from Department of Defense inventories for Kyiv since August 2021. Monday’s PDA included air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons.

The package is the latest round of aid stemming from a $61 billion assistance bill for Kyiv that was approved by Congress in April after several months of delays. The Biden administration still has more than $8 billion in funding from previous aid packages to give to Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov on Monday to discuss battlefield dynamics and U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.

During his call with Umerov, Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, along with its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which the Pentagon called “another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.”