US to provide Ukraine with new arms package using "saved" funds

Reuters reports, that the Pentagon has about $5.4 billion at its disposal, which was discovered in June when it turned out that the cost of weapons provided to Ukraine was overstated by $6.2 billion due to an accounting error. Some of these funds have already been used.

A new package, which is still being formed, may be announced on Wednesday in Brussels at the 16th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense in the Ramstein format. It is expected to cost about $200 million.

According to Reuters, if Congress does not provide new funds to buy replacements, and the Pentagon runs out of funds it can reprogram to keep corporate contracts flowing, the U.S., Ukraine and arms makers may be forced to take other steps to backfill stocks.

It is noted that reprogramming, a tool used to shift funds within Department of Defense accounts to meet urgent needs, could be used to buy arms from weapons makers like Lockheed Martin, which makes the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, and General Dynamics, which makes the 155 millimeter artillery ammunition. Both have been essential to Ukraine's operations.

• On October 1, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the preparation of a new US aid package for Ukraine.