The Pentagon announced a new batch of weaponry and other materiel for Ukraine’s effort to fight off Russia’s invasion, amid rising obstacles in Washington to future military and financial support.
The package, valued at about $200 million, was announced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ahead of a meeting with allies here Wednesday. Longer-term decisions over military support for Ukraine are on hold in Washington, where the House is without a speaker and Republicans are split over extending funding.
The U.S. has also pledged to provide arms to Israel for its growing military response to the attack by Hamas militants on Saturday, threatening to stretch the U.S.’s attention and resources.
On the battlefield, meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is making slow progress in its efforts to bisect Russian forces that occupy nearly one-fifth of the country. Ukraine is pressing its assault as time runs out before rains and cold weather make fighting more difficult.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers in Brussels to plead for continued support for his country’s efforts to expel Russian forces.
Zelensky briefly acknowledged the attack on Israel by Hamas in comments at the start of the meeting, then pushed for more funds to execute the war “without any pauses,” seemingly a reference to worries that political dysfunction in Washington could suspend, at least temporarily, American support.
“We have to put even more pressure so that the aggressor weakens faster and does not have time to adapt to our pressure and we need to make sure that Russia is heading for defeat and does not even attempt to claim anything else,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky repeatedly asked for more air defenses to help Ukrainian forces defend their cities and troops against Russian missile attacks.
The Pentagon’s new tranche of weaponry for Ukraine adds to more than $40 billion already committed. It includes more artillery, additional ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, precision aerial munitions, electronic-warfare equipment, missiles, anti-armor systems, small arms and more than 16 million rounds of small-arms ammunition.
Other allies have also made fresh pledges in recent days, including Germany, which committed new air-defense systems and other equipment in a package worth more than $1 billion, and the U.K., which said it would send more than $100 million, including mine-clearing equipment and air-defense capabilities.
The Pentagon has about $5.2 billion left in an account for Ukraine, which under spending rates for the last several months should give the Pentagon enough Ukraine funding for at least another six months. But Biden administration officials say they only have about two more months of funding for Ukraine left as part of their plea to Congress to pass a new Ukraine funding bill.
