DOD announces $100M aid package for Ukraine

The Defense Department announced a $100 million weapons transfer to Ukraine today, including additional air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition and anti-tank weapons.

The latest package, funded via presidential drawdown authority, includes:

• Stinger anti-aircraft missiles;
• One High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and additional ammunition;
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
• Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
• More than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
• Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
• Cold weather gear; and
• Spare parts, maintenance, and other ancillary equipment.

The transfer is the 51st PDA action for Ukraine since August 2021.

Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord said last week that DOD has about $5 billion in authority remaining to transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine, but only $1 billion available to replenish those weapons.

The White House included funds for Ukraine in a $106 billion emergency supplemental spending request it sent Congress last month, but House GOP lawmakers remain at odds over whether the aid should be provided.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has sought to frame the additional assistance as a boost for the U.S. economy.

“Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security,” DOD said today. “It helps to prevent a larger conflict in the region and deter potential aggression elsewhere, while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating highly skilled jobs for the American people in dozens of states across the country. It is critical that Congress take action to support Ukraine by passing the President’s supplemental funding request.”