US Army provides hundreds of millions of dollars to Ukraine due to delays in government funding - media

The military is concerned that without Congress' help, it will have to raise money from other important army projects. 

CNN reported this citing US military officials.

"As funding for Ukraine faces an uncertain future in Congress, the US Army has been left to foot the bill for hundreds of millions of dollars in support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia over the last few months," the report says.

US military officials are increasingly concerned that without new funding, they will have to start pulling money from other important projects to continue supporting Kyiv.

Since October 2023, the US Army has spent more than $430 million on various operations, including training the Ukrainian military, transporting equipment, and deploying US troops to Europe.

"We’re basically taking it out of hide in the Army," a senior military official said, adding that the bill is currently being paid by the Army's Europe and Africa Command.

Without additional funding for Ukraine approved by Congress, the command has approximately $3 billion to cover $5 billion in operating costs, the second senior military official explained. He noted that this includes not only operations related to support for Ukraine, but also other operations for the US command across Europe and Africa.

The military says that if Congress still does not pass new funding for Ukraine within a few months, it will have to start making tough decisions and separate money from less important projects, such as barracks construction or recruitment incentives.

They warn that in such a situation, the US Army's budget for Europe and Africa, which is approximately $3 billion, will run out of money for operations not only in Ukraine but also in other countries in Europe and Africa by the end of May.

Delays in aid to Ukraine in the US Congress

On February 8, 67 senators voted in favour of the draft law on foreign aid totalling $95 billion. After agreeing on the amendments, the Senate was to vote on the substance of the bill and pass it on to the House of Representatives.

On the night of February 13, the US Senate suspended debate on aid to Ukraine, paving the way for the main vote.

On February 13, the US Senate voted in favour of the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid bill. The decision is now up to the House of Representatives.

On February 14, Mike Johnson said that the Republicans have no plans to vote for the bill to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as the US must take care of its own problems before solving them around the world.

US lawmakers are looking for a "plan B" to pass aid to Ukraine despite the resistance of the Speaker of the House.

On February 16, the US House of Representatives went on recess until the end of February, and did not vote on the Senate-passed bill containing the aid package for Ukraine.

A bipartisan group of moderate congressmen in the US House of Representatives unveiled a bill to provide additional funding to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. It also includes measures to strengthen US border security.