An F-16 assigned to the 162nd Wing at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Ariz., during training. (Hampton Stramler/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The Ukrainian government has alerted U.S. defense officials that their troops are low on ammunition and other equipment as President Joe Biden’s request for additional money to supply Ukraine in its war with Russia remains stalled in Congress, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday.
“We have heard reports from the Ukrainian government that they have concerns from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and General Staff that they are concerned that they believe that units do not have the stocks and the storage of ammunition that they require,” Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security, told reporters following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
The group, which consists of about 50 nations, held its 18th meeting on providing assistance and weapons to Ukraine to help beat back the Russian forces that invaded nearly two years ago. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin participated in the meeting virtually from his home, marking the first public appearance since his undisclosed hospitalization for prostate cancer. He called on other countries to keep supplying Ukraine.
“I urge this group to dig deep to provide Ukraine with more lifesaving, ground-based air-defense systems and interceptors,” Austin said in his opening remarks to the group.
In this Defense Department video screenshot, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks from his home in Great Falls, Va., to a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Austin has been recuperating at home from complications from prostate cancer. (Defense Department)
The U.S. had provided more than $44 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The aid has been provided through presidential drawdown authorities, where equipment is pulled from existing U.S. military stocks and sent to Ukraine on an emergency basis, or long-term assistance to procure weapons and munitions from the defense industry or partner countries for a later time.
The Pentagon announced its last military aid package — worth $250 million — for Ukraine on Dec. 27 as Biden’s proposal for another $110 billion to help support the country’s war effort stalled on Capitol Hill.
Ukraine aid, as well as funds to assist Israel in its fight against Hamas militants, is held up by congressional negotiations over U.S. immigration policy, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. But a deal is near, he said Tuesday.
“We’re close to reaching a bipartisan agreement on the supplemental, but we are not there yet. Negotiators are still working through some outstanding items,” he said. “All of us want to reach an agreement, but it is very important that we get this right.”
Haggling over security on the U.S.-Mexico border has consumed Congress for months. Schumer warned time for a compromise is running out as Ukraine’s supplies run low and Russia replenishes its arsenals with weapons from North Korea.
“Ukrainian commanders have already said they’ve been forced to ration munitions because they don’t know when — or if — another round of American aid is coming their way,” he said. “If Congress fails to act, Ukraine faces defeat.”
The U.S. and other allies hope Ukraine will have an “initial operating capability” for F-16 fighter jets this year, Wallander said.
The Pentagon announced in August that it expected to begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s in October. Ukraine has long requested F-16s to counter sophisticated military equipment and aircraft used by Russian forces in the war.
Stars and Stripes reporter Svetlana Shkolnikova contributed to this report.
