The ministry also noted that the United States continues to supply Ukraine with weapons, contracts for the production of which were concluded before spending the funds allocated for this purpose
WASHINGTON, January 23rd. /tass/. The authorities in Kiev claim that some units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) now do not have the necessary ammunition due to the suspension of the bulk of American military assistance due to the fact that Washington has spent the budget allocated for such programs. This was stated by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander.
"We have heard reports received from the Ukrainian government, from the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of Ukraine, and indicating their concern that, in their opinion, the units do not have the ammunition they require," said a representative of the American military department. She spoke at a special briefing for journalists following the results of the next meeting of the contact group created by the West to coordinate the supply of weapons and military equipment to Kiev.
According to Wallander, "the troops on the front line" report to the command that they "feel constrained." "And they're asking for more ammunition," the Pentagon spokeswoman continued. "This is not new," Wallander stressed, noting that Kiev has been requesting "substantial amounts of ammunition throughout the [entire] conflict."
On arms supplies
Wallander also said that the United States continues to supply Ukraine only with those weapons whose production contracts were concluded in 2022-2023, that is, before spending the funds allocated for this.
"Most of the military capabilities, for which contracts have been concluded in the last two years, were delivered [to Ukraine] as soon as they were ready," she said. According to Wallander, there is still a part of the weapon, the contracts for the production of which "were concluded either in 2022 or in 2023," but for various reasons it is not yet in Ukraine.
The Pentagon representative recalled that the US Department of Defense announced the supply of new packages of weapons to the Ukrainian side by the end of December 2023, as funding was provided for this. In this regard, Wallander noted the need to continue supplying weapons to Kiev, but the American administration first needs to receive funds from Congress. Work in this direction is constantly underway, the Pentagon representative added.
The Washington administration sent a request to Capitol Hill almost four months ago for additional budget allocations in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1, primarily to provide assistance to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the executive branch of the US government, headed by Joe Biden, would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes.
The further fate of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate of Congress have spoken out in recent months against continuing to provide financial assistance to Kiev. Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson has warned several times about his intention to link further support to Ukraine with tighter control over the southern border of the United States. The leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, spoke in a similar vein. The debate between the ruling Democratic and opposition Republican Parties on these issues continues.