The US Is ‘Out of Money’ to Arm Ukraine

The Pentagon says it can't send more weapons to Ukraine until Congress authorizes more spending on the war

The Pentagon said Thursday that the US is “out of money” to arm Ukraine as Congress has yet to authorize more spending on the proxy war.

The Pentagon technically has $4.2 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to ship weapons to Ukraine but doesn’t have the funds to replenish the arms.

“We have the authority to spend that from available funds but wouldn’t have the ability to replenish the stocks by taking money out — or taking stuff out of our inventory,” said Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. “We’re out of money.”

The $4.2 billion is what’s left of $6.2 billion that was freed up by a so-called “accounting error” that overvalued previous arms shipments to Ukraine. Without the “error,” the US would have run out of money to arm Ukraine months ago.

The Biden administration announced a $250 million weapons package for Ukraine on December 27 that the White House said was the last one until Congress authorizes more spending on the war.

Other types of US aid to Ukraine have also dried up, including funding for the Ukrainian government. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said last week that government workers could face delays in the payment of their salaries or pensions if the US and the EU do not approve new aid packages soon.

President Biden is seeking over $60 billion to fuel the war in Ukraine for another year, but Republicans in Congress are holding out on approving it to get Democrats to agree to major changes to border policies and laws. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) led about 60 Republicans on a trip to the border on Wednesday and said he would stand firm.

“If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin with defending America’s national security,” Johnson said. “We want to get the border closed and secured first.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.