On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced yet another massive aid package for Ukraine, this time amounting to $200 million.
As reported by the New York Post, this will be the 48th such package sent to Eastern Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. It will include 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), AIM-9M missiles to assist with aerial defense, and counter-unmanned drones.
“This security assistance package is an important signal of United States’ continued commitment to supporting the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression,” the Pentagon said in a statement announcing the new aid. The package will consist of materials that already exist in current US stockpiles, and thus can be sent more quickly through presidential drawdown authority.
As of the beginning of October, the U.S. already had $5.4 billion in drawdown authority, and planned to use another $1.6 billion in authorized funds to boost its own stockpiles.
The Biden Administration has begged Congress to pass its own aid package to Ukraine so that it will not have to keep relying on the drawdown funding, but such efforts have stalled due to the ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), with House Republicans still trying to decide on a new nominee. Thus far, Congress has passed $113 billion worth of aid to Ukraine, with $70 billion of that designed for security assistance, and the remainder allocated for humanitarian aid.
Back in August, the Pentagon asked Congress for another $24 billion.
“Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security,” said the Pentagon. “It helps to prevent a larger conflict in the region and deter potential aggression elsewhere, while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating highly skilled jobs for the American people.”
While there has long been criticism from the Republican Party of the massive amount of aid being sent to Ukraine with little to no accountability, there has been a renewed wave of pushback following the massive invasion of Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, with many calling for a halt on any further aid to Ukraine, in favor of sending aid to Israel instead.