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US military aid to Kiev could end by midsummer, resupplying not easy: Report

This picture shows Ukrainian forces and tanks near the frontline town of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, January 13, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

The United States has problems providing funds for weapons and munitions to the Ukraine forces fighting against Russia, a US media publication reported.  

"The end of Ukraine aid is rapidly approaching and reupping it won’t be easy," Politico reported on Monday citing an unnamed source.

Since Russia launched its military campaign to defend the pro-Moscow people in Ukraine in February 2022, the US has sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons including drones, artillery guns, armored vehicles and tanks in addition to advanced Patriot missiles systems and loads of various munitions used in the different weapons.

Politico reported that of the $48 billion aid package approved in December last year only $6 billion is left which will in turn dry up by midsummer, thus raising concerns in Congress.

According to the news site, lawmakers are worried that funding more weapons and munitions to Ukraine amid the looming budget crisis in Washington might be problematic.

Republican lawmakers, who are stalling approval of the Biden administration’s budget bill, demand a cut in tax-payers' money going to Ukraine as military aid.

On the other hand, cutting, or even delaying, funds allocated for arms delivery to Kiev might create problems for Ukrainian forces fighting Russian troops.

“It is critical that the administration provide Ukraine with what it needs in time to defend and take back its sovereign territory,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Pentagon leaders during a hearing on Thursday. “We expect the administration not to wait until the eleventh hour if the Ukrainians need more before the end of the fiscal year.”

As German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius put it last month, "stopping arms deliveries [to Kiev] will mean the end of Ukraine, and immediately."

In the meantime, Russia has repeatedly warned the West that flooding Ukraine with weapons will only prolong the war and increase the amount of destruction. However, it will in no way stop Moscow from reaching its objectives.

Also, Moscow has warned the countries providing weapons and munitions to Kiev that the Kremlin sees them as legitimate targets for Russian armed forces.

In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pointed out that those NATO member states that are arming and training Ukrainian forces are directly engaged in the Ukraine war.

In the meantime, the massive shipments of weapons and munitions sent to Ukraine were used at a record rate, unprecedented since WWII.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, since taking the helm, has been urging the West to supply weapons; however, after Russia launched its special military operation the Ukrainian president’s requests became more and more frequent.

In the past few days, Zelensky has held talks with the leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy and France, demanding bigger and better weapons for the Ukrainian forces to fight against the Russian troops defending the pro-Moscow regions.


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