Politico said on Tuesday that the $300 million budget for Ukraine that the US Congress authorized last week would not be giving Kiev any new help since it was already spent months ago.
President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion budget deal on Saturday that includes an allocation for Ukraine and guarantees US government financing until October.
$300 million funding the Pentagon's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which finances contracts for upcoming arms and equipment delivery and serves as a conduit for weapons supplied to Kiev by Washington. However, because of the way the project operates, the funding "is not available for us to use now," a US source told Politico under anonymity.
Actually, the $300 million for Kiev was required when the Pentagon declared a support package in November, claiming that it had used up all of the remaining USAI money. Since then, the Department of Defense has shown that it can use an accounting ruse to generate another $300 million military aid package within its current jurisdiction.
Under a different process, it has reevaluated weapons taken from its inventory for Ukraine at net book value rather than replacement value, which is often greater. However, officials acknowledged last month that the strategy creates a $10 billion hole in the Pentagon budget since there is not enough money for it to restock its arsenal.
Partisan differences have hindered the United States' ability to continue helping Kiev. The House of Representatives, dominated by Republicans, is preventing the over $60 billion in financing for Ukraine that the White House has been requesting for months.
Politico reported that this week's bipartisan legislators authorized the extra cash in the temporary package, but in a symbolic rather than practical manner.
Speaker Mike Johnson said that a vote on more funding for Ukraine would take place after a reduction in the likelihood of a government shutdown in 2024. Progress before April is doubtful, however, since the parliament is presently in recess.
Moscow claims that the West is employing Ukrainians as cannon fodder in a proxy war against Russia. Russian authorities have reiterated that no amount of assistance from the West would change the course of the conflict and have warned that weapons transfers also obstruct the possibility of a fair peace agreement.
President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion budget deal on Saturday that includes an allocation for Ukraine and guarantees US government financing until October.
$300 million funding the Pentagon's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which finances contracts for upcoming arms and equipment delivery and serves as a conduit for weapons supplied to Kiev by Washington. However, because of the way the project operates, the funding "is not available for us to use now," a US source told Politico under anonymity.
Actually, the $300 million for Kiev was required when the Pentagon declared a support package in November, claiming that it had used up all of the remaining USAI money. Since then, the Department of Defense has shown that it can use an accounting ruse to generate another $300 million military aid package within its current jurisdiction.
Under a different process, it has reevaluated weapons taken from its inventory for Ukraine at net book value rather than replacement value, which is often greater. However, officials acknowledged last month that the strategy creates a $10 billion hole in the Pentagon budget since there is not enough money for it to restock its arsenal.
Partisan differences have hindered the United States' ability to continue helping Kiev. The House of Representatives, dominated by Republicans, is preventing the over $60 billion in financing for Ukraine that the White House has been requesting for months.
Politico reported that this week's bipartisan legislators authorized the extra cash in the temporary package, but in a symbolic rather than practical manner.
Speaker Mike Johnson said that a vote on more funding for Ukraine would take place after a reduction in the likelihood of a government shutdown in 2024. Progress before April is doubtful, however, since the parliament is presently in recess.
Moscow claims that the West is employing Ukrainians as cannon fodder in a proxy war against Russia. Russian authorities have reiterated that no amount of assistance from the West would change the course of the conflict and have warned that weapons transfers also obstruct the possibility of a fair peace agreement.
