Some U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine may take place after President Joe Biden’s term ends in January, Pentagon officials tell VOA, noting it will take time for certain capabilities to arrive in Ukraine.
“As you know, some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly, and you’ve seen that happen within days or weeks. Sometimes, it does take longer … and that could be longer than weeks; that could be months,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said November 14 in response to a question from VOA.
Singh noted that under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, weapon deliveries could take years.
“The long and short of it is, is that some equipment does get to Ukraine exceptionally quickly. But then there are some that take longer,” she said.
The United States has remaining funds for two main programs supporting Ukraine’s defense — PDA, or Presidential Drawdown Authority, and USAI. The first program allows weapons to be provided from existing U.S. stockpiles, ensuring faster delivery. The second program involves purchasing weapons from industry, a process that can take longer.
As of November, the U.S. has around $9 billion left for military assistance for Ukraine, the Pentagon has reported. Of this, approximately $7 billion is available under the PDA program, including around $4 billion approved by Congress in April and an additional $2.8 billion made available after accounting adjustments by the Department of Defense. Some $2.2 billion is available through the USAI program.
On November 20, the U.S. announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine valued at $275 million. It included munitions for rocket systems, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons.
Pentagon officials have confirmed to VOA that the Department of Defense is committed to allocating all remaining PDA funds authorized by Congress before January 20 and additional funds made available due to recalculations. The exact total will depend on ongoing assessments of Ukraine’s defense needs and the logistics of assistance delivery.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that some weapons deliveries to Ukraine could take time.
“Everything won’t be delivered immediately,” he told reporters during a visit to Italy in October. “Things that we’re purchasing now, for example, may wind up showing up a couple of months later.”
The secretary added that some materiel from U.S. stocks is refurbished before being delivered to Ukraine. “And again, it’s not instantaneous, it may take weeks or in some cases, a couple of months,” he said.
Austin underscored that the Pentagon has provided a plan to the Ukrainians and is confident that weapon deliveries will proceed according to the expected schedule.
If the incoming Trump administration decided to stop some remaining deliveries, they could do so. In this case, however, they would have to de-obligate aid that was previously obligated by the Biden administration, Austin said last month in Italy.
On November 12, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said that between the passage of the supplemental funding by Congress in April and the middle of October, the U.S. has delivered 83% of committed munitions from its stockpiles, 67% of other critical air defense commitments and 60% of artillery and close air support capabilities.
“Since the passage of the supplemental, we’ve delivered hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of armored vehicles, thousands of munitions for HIMARS and antitank weapons, dozens of artillery systems, significant air defense capabilities, including a Patriot battery, hundreds of interceptors and dozens of other systems,” Ryder said.
“And together with our allies and partners, the deliveries of the strategic air defense system we committed to providing at the NATO summit are nearly completed,” he said.
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