According to two U.S. officials, the Pentagon is preparing to quickly approve an arms package for Ukraine that includes essential artillery and air defense equipment. The weapons will be sent as soon as Congress votes on additional funding for Ukraine. Politico writes about it, UNN reports.
Details
The Biden administration has not yet made a final decision on how large the tranche will be or what it will contain, officials said. But U.S. Defense Department officials are working to put together a package of U.S. equipment that can move quickly through the bureaucratic process once the law is passed and signed by the president, one official said.
They will very quickly pass this recommendation on to the secretary, and shortly after that it will go to the president
According to officials, this tranche - which would be only the second sent by the US after funds ran out in December as Congress halted the president's request for additional aid - would include artillery and air defense to replenish Ukraine's arsenal.
Last month, the White House approved one emergency package of $300 million, using savings from previous contracts.
Many U.S. weapons are already in stores across Europe and can be shipped to Ukraine immediately, the first official said. Some materiel could reach Ukraine in a few days; others could take weeks.
Addendum Addendum
The House of Representatives is nearing a vote on Saturday on four bills that would provide $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Pacific partners. After the aid package is passed, the Senate still needs to pass the aid package before Biden can sign it.
Out of the nearly $61 billion for Ukraine, about $48 billion will go to the Pentagon to finance Kyiv's armaments, replenish weapons, and pay for military operations in Europe.
The bill provides $23.2 billion for the military to replenish the stockpile of weapons and equipment provided to Ukraine. Another $13.8 billion will go to the Pentagon's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to purchase new weapons for Kyiv. And $11.3 billion will be used to fund enhanced military operations in Europe.
The legislation also reauthorizes the Pentagon to send up to $7.8 billion worth of existing weapons to Ukraine from military stockpiles, which will be replaced by additional funding in the package.