US is struggling to send Ukraine money. Here’s what this means for conflict

The US has warned that it is running out of money to send Ukraine. Shalanda Young, the White House budget czar, has in a letter to the US House Speaker, warned that the country will be unable to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment by the end of 2023. “I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine,” Young wrote. “Cutting off the flow of US weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield,” she added. The strongly worded letter from the White House’s budget director said that by that time it would be too late and funds for Ukraine would have already dried up. “There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money – and nearly out of time,” Shalanda Young wrote. But why is the US struggling to get together funds for Ukraine? And what does this mean for the conflict? Let’s take a closer look: Why is the US struggling to raise funds for Ukraine? This is down to domestic US politics. While President Joe Biden asked for $106 billion in national security funding, including support for Ukraine and for Israel’s war against Hamas in October, Congress has been unable to do much of anything. Republicans in the House have been devouring their own as the hard-right lawmakers have been stridently opposed to any new funding for Ukraine. After Kevin McCarthy was removed from power by those from the extreme wing in his party, Mike Johnson was elected the New House Speaker in October. [caption id=“attachment_13379102” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] House Speaker Mike Johnson replaced Kevin McCarthy after he was ousted by a right-wing coup. AP[/caption] Johnson, an ally of ex-president Donald Trump, managed to keep a government shutdown from occurring by cutting a deal with the Democrats – the very sin McCarthy was held guilty of by his brethren – but the agreement did not include money for Ukraine and Israel. “Of course, we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the necessity of assisting there,” Johnson was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “If there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine – which most members of Congress believe is important – we have to also work on changing our own border policy.” How much has the US sent Ukraine? The United States has already provided at least $40 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

But some put that figure even higher.

CFR quoted the German research institute the Kiel Institute for the World Economy as saying US Congress and Biden have given Ukraine over $75 billion in aid. Around $4 billion is humanitarian aid, $26 billion is financial aid, another $18.3 billion was sent for security, $23.5 billion was sent for hardware and $4.7 billion was given to Ukraine in grants and loans. However, as per Politico most of the money that Congress earmarked for Ukraine has remained in the United States. Around 97 per cent of the $62.3 billion sent to the Pentagon has been spent, while the entire $4.7 billions sen to the state department is also gone.

Most of the money hasn’t gone directly to the Ukraine either.

Rather, it has been spent on replacing the US military hardware sent to Kyiv. Young pointed out that this has created employment in the defence industries. [caption id=“attachment_13462712” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A Ukrainian soldier sits in his position in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine. AP[/caption] “While we cannot predict exactly which US companies will be awarded new contracts, we do know the funding will be used to acquire advanced capabilities to defend against attacks on civilians in Israel and Ukraine — for example, air defence systems built in Alabama, Texas, and Georgia and vital subcomponents sourced from nearly all 50 states,” Young was quoted as saying by Politico. “That has improved our own military readiness since DOD is buying new equipment to replace what we are sending Ukraine, jumpstarting and expanding production lines, and is supporting good-paying jobs in dozens of states across the country,” Young added. Casting Russian president Vladimir Putin and Hamas as twin forces trying to “annihilate” neighbouring democracies, Biden has sought to tie $61 billion for Ukraine with $14 billion for Israel in the aid package he demanded in October. What does this mean for the conflict? The White House has warned that failure to agree to more funding not only puts Ukraine’s gains to date at risk, but increasing the chance of Russian military victories. “This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act,” Young wrote. “Already, our packages of security assistance have become smaller and the deliveries of aid have become more limited,” Young added, as per Politico. “If our assistance stops, it will cause significant issues for Ukraine.” Ukraine has been desperately pushing for more foreign aid as Russian forces step up attacks in the east after holding back Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive. As the war enters a third winter, the frontline has largely remained static for the last year despite a massive push by Ukrainian forces this summer with Western military hardware_._ With inputs from agencies