US Releases Last Authorized Weapons Package for Ukraine

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Facts

• In what could be the last US military aid package headed to Ukraine, unless Congress approves further spending, the White House released a weapons package worth $250M on Wednesday.¹
• The package, America's 54th to Ukraine since August 2021, includes munitions for air defense systems as well as for a range of weapons including artillery and rocket systems, the US Dept. of Defense said in a statement.²
• The weapons will go to Ukraine from existing Pentagon stockpiles under what's known as the Presidential Drawdown Authority — an allocation that's now been exhausted, according to officials. The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, another means of furnishing the country's war effort, has also reportedly run out of funds.³
• For weeks, the White House and defense officials have urged Congress to approve Pres. Joe Biden's national security package that will allocate an additional $61.4B for Ukraine, as well as spending on Israel and other countries. They argued that failure to do so would severely hamper Ukraine's ability to defend itself as the war approaches its two-year mark.³
• Reports prior to Wednesday's announcement revealed that Ukraine had already been forced to downsize the scope of some military operations amid drop-offs in foreign aid. Ukrainian general Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said there were ammunition shortages along the 'entire front line,' creating a 'big problem' for Kyiv.⁴
• Meanwhile, according to a report in Politico, citing a Biden administration official and a European diplomat based in Washington, the US and European allies were quietly shifting their strategy in Ukraine — moving away from seeking total victory over Russia to a defensive posture aimed at improving Ukraine's hand in possible negotiations. 'Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia,' the report said.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News (a), ²U.S. Department of Defense, ³Associated Press, ⁴BBC News (b) and ⁵POLITICO.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Guardian. While Western countries have pledged to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, they have largely fallen short of providing Ukraine with the amounts and types of weapons needed to inflict defeat on Russia. That fate of beating the Kremlin is still very much possible — but these countries need to rapidly ramp up their delivery of weaponry.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by American Conservative. The West's collective failure in seeking to expand NATO eastwards to Russia's borders started this war, which has resulted in Ukraine losing vast swaths of territory, as well as untold numbers of men and women. Rather than continue prolonging this devastation, Ukraine needs to push for peace.

Predictions