For almost two years, the Russia-Ukraine war has been ongoing. In recent months, the Pentagon's ** has been warning Congress that if they don't act, the U.S. Department of Defense will soon run out of security assistance to Ukraine. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Laplantt disclosed this information to reporters at the Reagan Defense Forum over the weekend. For the Pentagon's **, constantly reducing aid to Ukraine is a difficult task. They don't want Ukraine's armed forces to be seen as a vulnerable party, but they are likely to risk collapse without U.S. support.
At the same time, they also want to convey a sense of urgency to prompt Congress to negotiate a $105 billion supplementary funding bill, more than half of which will be used to support Ukraine. However, the reality is grim. The U.S. has $4.8 billion left in its aid budget to support Ukraine, but only $1 billion to replenish stocks. U.S. Army procurement chief Doug Bush said at the Defense One conference in Washington that the U.S. Army will soon make a request to Congress to spend the remaining $1 billion, and Congress will have 15 days to approve or reject the request. To date, not a single request has been denied by Congress.
Bush said that if Congress approves the request, "it will mean that we will run out of all aid dollars in a matter of weeks." A senior U.S. military ** told Defense News in private while discussing sensitive topics that military operations in Ukraine will be somewhat limited next year if the U.S. does not provide further assistance. In the same period last year, some of the equipment needed for Ukraine** was already in place. "We don't want to wait until spring," the ** said, as it nears its end. At the beginning of this summer, the Armed Forces of Ukraine failed to recapture the territory they hoped to recapture. Kyiv may have to reconsider its plans for next year because of the unsuccessful operation and the slowness of assistance.
This could mean concentrating efforts on a 600-mile front line, or adjusting strategy to accommodate fewer resources. Despite recent announcements by European countries such as the Netherlands and Germany of new commitments to Ukraine, U.S. aid is only half of the $100 billion that Western countries have provided so far. This week, representatives of Ukraine** and the defense industry traveled to Washington for a three-day meeting with the United States and Europe** on the construction of a wartime industrial base in Kiev. A senior NATO ** told reporters in Washington: "Support for Ukraine will not be immediately interrupted. "Regarding the impact of the cessation of U.S. aid on the battlefield, NATO** said it was too early to draw conclusions.
Nevertheless, the Pentagon and ** continue to emphasize that US assistance is essential to maintain a coalition of countries that support Kyiv. While U.S. support is decreasing, other European countries are working to provide it, and Ukraine may be looking for new partners to bridge the gap.