Reuters: US to Meet Deadline for Military Aid to Ukraine
Amman2 min read
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Three informed sources said that the administration of US President Donald Trump has made legally binding commitments to spend most of the amount approved by Congress to provide military aid to Ukraine last year, amounting to $400 million, ensuring that the financial allocation does not fall on September 30.
The sources, who requested anonymity, said that as of the beginning of this week, the allocation amounted to $307 million out of $400 million within the funding of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, indicating that the US administration intends to allocate the remaining amount of $93 million before the fiscal year ends on September 30.
The US Department of Defense (Pentagon), which oversees the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program, declined to comment on this report.
This funding has sparked controversy within Congress, as Democrats and some Republicans from Trump's colleagues criticize the Pentagon for retaining the aid allocated for Kiev, which members of both parties voted in favor of in December.
In the past few months, Trump has taken a more positive stance towards Ukraine, agreeing to a proposal to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles and signing a bill to impose sanctions on Russia.
This week, Trump met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and Zelenskyy said afterward that they discussed efforts to end the war with Russia, including the possibility of reaching a joint ceasefire agreement that includes energy-related targets.
The sources said that the first shipments, which will include offensive weapons and equipment such as parts for armored vehicles, began this month. The rest are expected to be delivered before October 2029. Trump's term in the White House ends in January of that year.
The remaining $93 million of the package approved by Congress does not have to be spent by the end of the year, but it will expire if it is not officially included in contracts by that time.
