Biden urges Congress to extend possible use of US$5.8bn for Ukraine

The US President Joe Biden administration has requested Congress to extend the presidential drawdown authority to supply weapons to Ukraine until 2025, ensuring that the remaining US$5.8 billion will be accessible after the end of the fiscal year on 30 September.

Source: US newspaper The Hill, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The White House is requesting that the extension be included in a resolution with exceptions proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson. Under current legal conditions, the funds face a use-it-or-lose-it deadline at the end of this month.

"We have $5.9 billion left in Ukraine Presidential Drawdown Authority [PDA; provision of weapons from the US Army's stockpile – ed.]; all but $100 million of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year... The Department [of Defense] will continue to provide drawdown packages in the near future and is working with Congress to seek an extension of PDA authorities beyond the end of the fiscal year," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told The Hill.

An aide to a member of Congress told The Hill that if the extension is unsuccessful, the White House could announce a mega aid package for this amount by 1 October and then gradually send the weapons in small batches in the following months. However, this is considered a worse option than getting an extension.

Specifically, there could be legal challenges with allocating the full amount of aid at once. For instance, some components of the aid might not be in stock currently, which could pose a formal obstacle.

Background: 

• At the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in September, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new US$250bn package of US military assistance to Ukraine under this mechanism, which included air defence missiles, missiles for other systems, artillery ammunition and armoured vehicles.
• During his visit to Kyiv for the Crimea Platform Summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced over US$700 million in humanitarian and energy aid for Ukraine.
• Blinken also pledged to convey the request of the Ukrainian government to strike targets in Russia with long-range weapons to US President Joe Biden.

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