Pentagon needs Congress to hand over $10B to replace weapons sent to Ukraine
“It would come back on our own readiness on our own stockpile to a certain extent if we can’t get new funding,” a DOD official said.
The Pentagon has sent $10 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine that it still does not have the money to replace due to congressional gridlock, according to a top Defense Department official.
DOD officials expect funding to replenish the equipment the U.S. has already sent to Ukraine to be included in President Joe Biden’s supplemental request, which provides billions of additional dollars in aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel. But that legislation has languished on Capitol Hill for months amid partisan bickering.
If DOD does not get the funding to backfill its stocks, the impact of that “ongoing hole” will ultimately be felt by the U.S. military’s own forces, said a senior DOD official, who was granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement.
“We have not been able to, with the funding we have to date — and there’s a big funding piece waiting in the supplemental — replenish everything we’ve already given to Ukraine,” the official told reporters. “So it would come back on our own readiness on our own stockpile to a certain extent if we can’t get new funding.”
DOD announced in December that it would be unable to send new weapons to Kyiv until Congress approves Biden’s supplemental request. But this is the first time officials have acknowledged that the U.S. is already in a $10 billion hole when it comes to backfilling its stocks.
The deficit stems from the difference in the value of the equipment sent to Ukraine compared to the cost to replace it: For example, if the Army sends older munitions that are no longer being produced, it might replace them with a newer version that is more expensive.
The comments come as the Pentagon on Monday unveiled its budget request for fiscal 2025, though lawmakers have yet to pass an appropriations bill for fiscal 2024. The Pentagon is operating under a stopgap measure, called a continuing resolution, that freezes spending at last year’s levels and prevents officials from starting new programs.
U.S. officials are growing concerned that Ukraine is running out of critical weapons, including ammunition and air defenses, as lawmakers stall on the aid package. But there are worries, too, about shortfalls in U.S. weapons if officials are not able to replenish DOD’s stocks.
The $10 billion covers only the cost to replace munitions and other weapons the U.S. has already sent Ukraine. It does not include the increase of U.S. forces to Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine to help defend allies in Eastern Europe as well as train the Ukrainians, which is an expense the Army is paying, the official said.
In addition to money spent on the Ukraine conflict, DOD is still waiting on cash to pay for the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, which topped $1.6 billion by the end of January, POLITICO reported. DOD estimates that cost will rise to $2.2 billion if sustained for a full year. It does not cover the munitions needed to knock down drones and missiles aimed at Navy ships and freighters in the Red Sea.
But officials view Ukraine as the more urgent problem. DOD has been unable to send Kyiv additional weapons since December, when appropriations to backfill its stocks ran out. The department still has $4.4 billion in authority to send aid to Ukraine, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been “reluctant” to tap into that fund without money to replace the weapons in the U.S., the official said.
DOD is unable to legally transfer money from other accounts to replenish the weapons it sends to Ukraine, the official stressed.
As another option, DOD officials have discussed using $200 million in savings that the Army negotiated in prior contracts for weapons for Ukraine to send additional aid, the official said. However, that is not an alternative to the $66 billion supplemental, the official said. Bloomberg first reported this option.
“We are still, in the big scheme of things, pretty close to broke,” the official said.
The senior official urged lawmakers to pass the legislation, saying the failure to do so will cost Ukraine dearly.
“They are low on ammunition today. They are fighting and dying today. If we can’t help them, there isn’t another industrial base on the planet that can really take our place,” the official said.