"It needs all resources": Pentagon on the possibility of providing assistance to Ukraine without Congress

The Pentagon, along with the entire administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, calls on Congress to immediately pass a bill with additional funding that provides more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. After all, Ukraine needs all the resources included in this package.

This was stated by Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder at a press conference on March 5. He was answering journalists' questions about the possible use of US Defense Department funds to support Ukraine outside the package being considered by Congress.

"We continue to urge Congress to pass a bill with additional funding as soon as possible so that we can support Ukraine in its time of need, and, of course, replenish our own stockpiles," the US defense official said.

He emphasized that Ukraine "needs all the resources in this package."

"There is really no other way to fully meet the needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the battlefield," Patrick said.

To recap, the Pentagon is considering using the last source of military aid funding to support Ukraine's fight against Russia. The US Defense Department still has about $4 billion of Presidential Authorization for Ukraine at its disposal.

Last year, the department announced that it had discovered an accounting error that overestimated the amount of aid it was providing to Ukraine by $6.2 billion. This extra money became a cushion for the US Defense Department, allowing it to provide military aid to Ukraine for longer than expected.

However, the Pentagon was previously reluctant to spend any of this money. After all, spending money without a plan to replenish equipment could affect the readiness of the US army.

The package of financial aid to Ukraine will be considered in Congress no earlier than mid-March. Speaker of the lower house of the US Congress Mike Johnson gave US lawmakers the opportunity to agree on a new proposal for a bill that includes aid to Kyiv. Republican supporters of the plan believe that the aid bill will be finalized by the middle of the month.

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