Media: The US plans to spend $6 billion on weapons for Ukraine by January 2025
7 November, 2024 Illustrative photo of Ukrainian M142 HIMARS. Photo credits: AFU StratCom The Biden administration is planning to use all remaining funds allocated for military aid to Ukraine by January 20, 2025.
Politico reported on this, citing two administration officials. The money must be spent before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election. At the end of the fiscal year 2024, which ended on September 30, the US administration had more than £6 billion in military aid available for Ukraine.
According to Politico, there is £4.3 billion to pull existing stocks and £2.1 billion in funding to put weapons on contract with U.S. defense companies.
Operator of the Javelin ATGM of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Photo credits: Armed Forces of Ukraine
The White House seeks to use these funds as soon as possible so that Ukraine has enough weapons to counter Russian offensives.
Politico's sources point out that it "usually takes months" to transfer US-allocated weapons to Ukraine, so the packages announced in the coming weeks are unlikely to arrive in full by the end of January 2025, while Trump could suspend the shipment of weapons. According to the newspaper's sources, another problem is the lack of sufficient weapons in the US Army's warehouses. And its replacement, which is paid for from the allocated £6 billion, may take some time.
During the election campaign, Donald Trump openly made it clear that he would stop or drastically reduce military aid to Ukraine if he won the November 5 election. He also refused to say that he wants Ukraine to win the war, according to European Pravda.
Stryker armored personnel carriers of the US military.
2017. Photo credits: U.S.
Indo-Pacific Command
On November 1, the US Department of Defense announced an additional £425 million defense and assistance package for Ukraine.
This package is the Biden Administration's sixty-ninth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
The aid package includes air defense systems, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.