The US funding system for Ukrainian salaries and Kiev government expenditures is expected to run out in the next month, Ukrainian and American officials have warned, amid criticisms of the West’s supply of funds and arms to Kiev.
The New York-based Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Pentagon, White House, and Ukrainian officials have warned that without a fresh infusion of funds from the US Congress, the US-led Western war against Russia will be lost and Moscow will gain territories once again.
According to the WSJ article, currently, the US and other donor nations cover the salaries of 150,000 civil servants in Ukraine, as well as more than half a million educators and school staff, in addition to various government costs, including healthcare and housing subsidies.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in September that Ukraine would face a significant economic and political crisis during their counteroffensive against Russia this autumn if Congress halted aid to Kiev.
Since the start of the War in Ukraine, the primary focus of US legislators has been on the supply of military equipment, such as tanks, helicopters, advanced missile systems and millions of rounds of ammunition, all of which Washington is uniquely positioned to provide for Kiev.
Meanwhile, as a government shutdown looms, US lawmakers aim to slash nearly $20 billion in proposed aid for Ukraine promised by US President Joe Biden to avoid what they described as “bankruptcy”.
“It’s bad policy to bankrupt our own country to send money to Ukraine,” libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul said in a post on X.
By the same token, the UK, possibly Washington and Kiev’s closest ally, says it’s out of weapons for Ukraine.
UK media reported on Tuesday that a senior military chief has said Ukraine now requires “air defense assets and artillery ammunition” which the UK has now “run dry on”.
“We’ve given away all we can afford,” the military official was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
The remark came after former UK defense secretary Ben Wallace urged British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase funding to Ukraine by more than £2 billion.
In related news, the US army has announced its readiness to swiftly deliver long-range missiles promised to Kiev, once US President Joe Biden gives the green light.
Douglas Bush, the US Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition said in an interview that the Army “has been postured for this eventuality for a while.”
Bush said the missiles the US will send Kiev have already been identified, insisting that the Army is ready to “go fast”.
Biden promised to send Kiev ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300km that could hit Russian targets far beyond the front lines with Ukraine.
