The administration of US President Joe Biden is weighing whether it can tap into about $200 million in US Army funding to provide immediate support to Ukraine as a larger aid package is stalled in Congress, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the situation, UNN reports.
Details
The funding, as stated, "can be used to pay for critical weapons, supplies and other equipment.
"The debate over the use of the Pentagon's small number of reserves underscores the White House's frantic efforts to find any possible support for Ukraine," the newspaper notes.
The final decision has not yet been made, said one of the interlocutors.
The White House is focused on convincing the US House of Representatives to pass a supplemental national security bill, and his aides still believe that if the speaker puts the bill to a vote, it will pass with an overwhelming majority, a National Security Council official said. Biden is expected to repeat this call in the evening during his address to Congress.
Addendum
European Union countries are now working on a plan initiated by the Czech Republic to supply Ukraine with about 800,000 non-EU ammunition in the "coming weeks," according to the newspaper, after they failed to fulfill their promise to provide Ukraine with one million of their own artillery shells by March.
EU states have reportedly provided about half of what they pledged, but have decided to ramp up capacity to produce about 1.4 million units by the end of the year. Allies are also working to help Ukraine increase production.