WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The United States plans to announce more than $8 billion worth of military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington, two U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden’s administration has been engaged in urgent discussions with Congress to allow it to use up $5.6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before Sept. 30 - the end of the federal fiscal year - when the authority was set to expire.
On Thursday, U.S. officials said, the White House intends to notify Congress it will move forward with the announcement of a $5.6 billion drawdown from U.S. weapons stocks. The contents of that package are still in flux, the officials said.
Reuters reported this month that the Biden administration was considering a backup plan under which it would announce plans for shipments for Ukraine, but with an extended delivery timeline for the weapons and equipment, allowing for a more gradual transfer of resources to Ukraine without missing the Sept. 30 deadline.
A second announcement slated for Thursday will be for $2.4 billion worth of aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from U.S. stocks.
That aid will include munitions, weapons to combat drones and material to support munitions production in Ukraine, one of the U.S. officials said.
In addition, the U.S. announced on Wednesday $375 million worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine. The package will include the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb with a range of up to 81 miles (130 km) called the Joint Standoff Weapon, two U.S. officials said. The inclusion of that weapon was not disclosed in the announcement.
That’s not a good take. The US has been dragging it’s feet in supplying Ukraine and has put gigantic restrictions on the use of those supplies. A very stark difference compared to Israel’s use, as an example. Zelensky just had a meeting with Biden today about his plan ending the war that I’m sure will involve giving up a significant amount of Ukraine to Russia. It’s not great being neighbors with Russia.
So you’re saying the west is providing enough weapons to keep the conflict going, but not providing the weapons Ukraine says it needs to win the war? Hmmm
I have a feeling you’d like to see Ukraine fall and be wiped off the map. Why, what purpose does that serve?
I have no idea what could have given you that silly idea. I’m being realistic about the issues that go along with US military support.
The US is treating Ukraine the same way it treated Afghanistan during the Soviet war. Afghanistan, just like Ukraine, was the victim of an unjust invasion. We (the US) supported the opposition to the Soviets, and we handed them billions in weapons. We were on the right side.
But we also sabotaged peace deals to prolong the war. We increased the ferocity and brutality of the fighting. We meddled in local politics, choosing winners and losers. This pattern did not end well for the people of Afghanistan, and I fear a similar fate for the people of Ukraine.
There’s a path to NATO membership Ukraine has that Afghanistan didn’t. The US never considered the Afghan people a true ally - just a useful tool to weaken Russia. Similar to Ukraine arming Russian separatists but on a much larger scale. Everyone wants this war to end on all sides. It’s just a matter of forcing Putin into good faith bargaining or total Russian victory.
Sorry to say, NATO membership is just the carrot on the stick that the US uses to lead Ukraine around.
Do you really believe the US considers Ukraine a “true ally”? All the evidence shows that Ukraine is just another useful tool to weaken Russia. US Senators admit this reality from the Senate floor.
Not everyone wants this conflict to end, some are getting very rich.