U.S. military and officials worry they will have to take money from other projects to continue funding Ukraine amid a protracted war with Russia.
CNN writes about this with reference to officials from the US Army.
The channel notes that since October 2023, the start of the fiscal year, the Army has spent more than $430 million on various operations, including training Ukrainian troops, transporting equipment and deploying American troops in Europe.
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— We are, in essence, taking the army out of harm's way, — A senior Army official told CNN.
Until now, this bill has been paid from the funds of the command of the ground forces in Europe and Africa. Without a congressionally approved 2024 budget and without additional funding for Ukraine, the command has roughly $3 billion to pay $5 billion in operating costs, a second senior Army official explained. This includes not only operations related to support for Ukraine — training and transfer of weapons and equipment to Poland and Ukraine, — but also other US command operations throughout Europe and Africa.
According to the publication, if Congress does not pass a new decision on funding for Ukraine within several months, army officials will have to make tough decisions and take money from less important projects, such as urgently needed construction of barracks or boosting military conscription at a record low. recruiting level.
If the army does not raise funds from other sources, then by the end of May the army budget in Europe and Africa, amounting to approximately $3 billion, will run out of money for operations related not only to Ukraine, but also to other European countries and Africa, a second senior Army official told CNN.
— If we don't get the base budget, if we don't get the additional (funding package, — Ed.) in Ukraine, if the government closes, if we don’t get anything else and nothing changes from today… we will exhaust funding (Operations and Maintenance, — Ed.) in May, — an Army spokesman told CNN.
These operations include training for Army forces in Europe and Africa and moving equipment into theater. The contracts will also not be paid on time and will result in penalties, he added.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth — The senior civilian official at the service, which ultimately decides where most of the budget will be spent, told CNN she thinks the Army will have to rob Peter to pay Paul.< /p>
— Every extra dollar I have makes a big difference where I put it. And I constantly choose between whether to spend it on barracks? Whether to put it on incentives for conscripts? Whether to put it on exercises? Whether to put it on modernization? I have no free money to just donate some of it, — said Wormuth.
Training continues
While US funding for Ukraine has dried up, training of Ukrainian troops continues, as the President has deemed it critical.
Colonel Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, told CNN that the U.S. is training about 1,500 Ukrainians at the Grafenwoehr training site in Germany. In the United States, training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters continues at the Morris Air National Guard base in Arizona.
In addition to training, the Ukrainians continue to receive equipment from U.S. stockpiles as part of previous Presidential Force Drawdown Authorization (PDA) packages, as well as weapons and equipment purchased from the defense industrial base under the PDA Initiative. Ukraine Security Assistance (USAI).
Previously, the US regularly announced PDA and USAI packages until funding ran out at the end of 2023.
Congress cannot decide to help
Lawmakers in the US Congress have been discussing the next tranche of funding for Ukraine for several months. Last week, the Senate voted to pass a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill, including $60 billion to support Ukraine. But it's unclear what the bill's future holds in the House; Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he “definitely” I don't intend to put it to a vote.
— We are now dealing with the appropriations process, we have upcoming deadlines, and that is where the attention of the House of Representatives is focused at the moment, — he said.
The millions of dollars the Army has spent this fiscal year to keep the wheels turning in Europe are divided into three main categories, the second official explained, — contracts, travel and transport, and supplies.
This includes logistics needs, food, key equipment including tents, and supplies such as fuel and repair parts, not only for the Ukrainians but also for the American troops who train them. The Army has spent $39.7 million on ground transportation so far in fiscal year 2024, the first senior Army official told CNN.
While some of the Army's costs could be offset by the supplemental spending bill being discussed on Capitol Hill, it is also critical for the service that Congress approve the fiscal year 2024 budget. Last month, lawmakers approved a short-term funding bill to keep the government running until early March.
It's not just the Army: National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson told reporters that the agency will eventually need additional resources if the United States intends to train more Ukrainian F-16 pilots.
— We have the resources to continue the preparations already begun… and we hope that all these people will complete their training at the end of this year. And if we decide to expand this program, then obviously we will need resources to train additional pilots and ground support personnel, — said Hokanson.
At a briefing earlier this month, Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, raised the issue of the lack of a 2024 budget, saying the Pentagon was “wasting critical time”.
— We are already in the fifth month of this fiscal year, and the Department of Defense is still… working under the third continuous resolution. This jeopardizes our national security and prevents the department from modernizing because we are limited by existing funding levels. We ask Congress to immediately pass our base budget and supplemental request, — said Singh.
A second senior Army official warned that delaying funding would ultimately have more serious consequences than cutting off training or aid to Ukraine.
— All this is interconnected. What we do in one place affects us everywhere. If we refuse this — you don't think China is watching this in the Pacific? You think it won't have a direct impact on the Pacific? … Russia is definitely watching, — said the official.
President Vladimir Zelensky previously said that Ukraine relies on the United States for funding.
