If the Senate passes the long-delayed aid bill, the Pentagon could begin transferring weapons to Ukraine within days. That's because Kiev has a network of storage sites in the United States and Europe that already have much-needed ammunition and air defense components.
CIA Director Bill Burns said last week it was important to move quickly, warning that Ukraine could lose the war with Russia by the end of the year without additional U.S. support.
“We want to expedite security assistance as much as we believe is necessary to be successful,” said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
The House of Representatives approved $61 billion in funding for the war-torn nation on Saturday after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson pushed a massive foreign aid bill to a vote despite threats within his party that it could cost jobs. It still requires Senate approval.
After the House vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful for “the decision that keeps history on the right track.” He said on
President Joe Biden said he would sign it “immediately.”
If that happens, “we have a very strong logistics network that can move materials very quickly,” Ryder told reporters last week. “We can move in a few days.”
The Pentagon had been preparing supplies for months but did not move them due to lack of funds. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Russia has spent all the funds Congress previously provided to support Ukraine, sending more than $44 billion in weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts.
By December, the Pentagon had lost $10 billion. Because it costs more to replace the systems sent to the Ukrainian battlefield.
As a result, the Pentagon's frequent aid packages to Ukraine fell through because there was no guarantee that Congress would pass the additional funds needed to replenish the weapons the United States was sending to Ukraine. The bill includes more than $20 billion to restock the Department of Defense's shelves and ensure the military services have what they need to fight and protect America.
Delays in weapons deliveries have forced Ukrainian forces to spend months rationing dwindling supplies of military supplies.
Look at how the United States can quickly transfer weapons to Ukraine.
President's power to reduce
Once the aid package for Ukraine is announced, the weapons will either be provided through the president's withdrawal authority, allowing the military to retrieve stockpiles immediately, or it will fund long-term contracts with the defense industry to secure the systems through security assistance.
The Presidential Withdrawal Authority (PDA), as it is known, allowed the military to send billions of dollars worth of ammunition, anti-aircraft missile launchers, tanks, vehicles and other equipment to Ukraine.
“In the past, we’ve seen weapons transferred through the president’s withdrawal authority arrive in a matter of days,” said Brad Bowman, director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
That inventory would come from bases or storage facilities in the U.S. or from European locations where the U.S. has already surged weapons to reduce the time it takes to deliver them once funding is approved.
US stocks decline
As the war in Ukraine dragged on, the United States began sending increasingly larger, deadlier, and more expensive systems to the front lines. This included a full air defense system, armored vehicles, sophisticated missiles, and even Abrams tanks.
As these systems cost more to replace, the military, especially the Army, went deeper into debt. Moreover, in some cases the military decided to replace older systems sent to Ukraine with more expensive, high-tech systems available at home.
As a result, Army leaders recently told Congress that if a foreign aid bill was not passed, they would begin to run out of funds and have to transfer funds from other accounts.
Secretary of the Army Christine Warmers and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George have said there will not be enough money to bring troops serving in Europe home or to train them in the United States.
US weapons storage
The military has large weapons storage facilities in the United States capable of storing millions of rounds of ammunition of all sizes, ready for use in the event of war.
For example, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma sprawls across 45,000 acres (70 square miles) connected by rail and has a mission to surge up to 435 shipping containers. Each container can carry 15 tons (30,000 pounds) worth of military supplies. The President gave instructions.
The facility is also the main storage site for 155mm howitzer rounds, one of the most used munitions on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Ukraine's demand for certain artillery shells has put pressure on U.S. stockpiles and prompted the military to figure out where to get them. As a result, tens of thousands of 155mm shells were shipped from Korea back to McAlester to be converted for Ukraine.
Weapons storage in Europe
Because of warehouses in Europe, the United States will be able to send certain military supplies to Ukraine “almost immediately,” according to a U.S. military official.
Among the weapons that can move very quickly are 155mm shells and other artillery, as well as some air defense munitions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss preparations that have not yet been made public.
Several sites across Germany, Poland and other European allies are also helping Ukraine maintain and train the systems being sent to the front lines. For example, Germany has set up a maintenance hub for Kiev's Leopard 2 tank fleet in Poland near the Ukrainian border.
A nearby maintenance hub will shorten the time it takes to complete needed repairs on the western system.
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