() – U.S. military aid packages to Ukraine have been smaller in recent months as stockpiles of weapons and equipment the Pentagon is willing to send to Kyiv from its own inventory have dwindled. The shift comes amid concerns about the impact on U.S. military readiness as American arms manufacturers try to catch up with the huge demand created by the war against Russia.
The shortage means the Biden administration still has $6 billion in funding available to arm and equip Ukraine, but the Pentagon lacks the inventory it is willing to deliver more than two years after the start of the war, two US officials told .
“It’s about the reserves we have on our shelves, what [los ucranianos] are asking for and if we can meet those requests with what we currently have” without affecting readiness, one of the officials said.
The Pentagon has asked Congress for more time to spend that money before it expires at the end of September, according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. It’s a sharp turnaround from last winter, when the administration was asking lawmakers for additional funds to support Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
“Replenishment is also an issue,” the official said. The United States is ramping up production of key items such as 155mm ammunition and Patriot missile systems, both to supply Ukraine and to replenish U.S. inventories. But it is a process that takes years and will not quickly meet growing demand.
Before the war in Ukraine, the United States produced about 15,000 155mm artillery shells a month. With the opening of new factories and production lines, the United States is now producing 40,000 shells a month, but it will take more than a year for the Pentagon to reach its goal of 100,000 shells a month. The process of increasing production is on schedule, but it will take years and require new facilities, expanded factories and a Congress willing to appropriate the money.
has reached out to the National Security Council for comment.
Ukraine is feeling the impact of inventory shortages, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. During a meeting of Ukraine’s Defense Contact Group in Germany this month, Zelensky told the U.S. and other allies that deliveries of promised air defense systems were proceeding too slowly and warned of a “significant” shortfall in vital aid.
In April, Congress gave the Biden administration an additional $13.4 billion to use specifically to send weapons and equipment drawn from US stockpiles to Ukraine. But the Defense Department has been unable to use it all due to a lack of matching supplies it is willing to part with without jeopardizing US readiness, officials told .
The Pentagon announced in April that it would send up to $1 billion worth of weapons and equipment directly from U.S. arsenals to Kyiv after Congress finally approved a supplemental funding package for Ukraine.
However, since then, the value of each military aid package to Ukraine has been significantly lower: none exceeded $400 million and most were between $125 million and $250 million. In 2022 and 2023, the Pentagon regularly announced packages worth between $600 million and $800 million, with the highest being $2.85 billion in January 2023.
Another U.S. official said the administration was unable to obtain supplies from the Defense Department stockpile during the first four months of the year because of Congress’s delay in approving supplemental funding. The official also said the U.S. is trying not to send too many to Ukraine at once.
“There are limits to how quickly we can remove the equipment without affecting military readiness, which is one reason the packages are being distributed in a spaced-out manner,” the official said. There are also limits, he added, to how quickly Ukraine can absorb the equipment and distribute it effectively.
The United States continues to try to announce a new aid package every two weeks or so, the official added, something Ukraine “supports because it believes that receiving new packages every two weeks is a morale booster.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has pledged continued military support to Ukraine and announced a new $250 million aid package at a meeting in Germany this month. Austin acknowledged at the meeting that the U.S. is working to increase production and “accelerate deliveries” to Ukraine.
“Time is of the essence, especially as winter approaches,” Austin said. “And we all need to step up our support, and quickly.”
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