By Lara Jakes

WASHINGTON – The White House warned Monday (4) that the United States would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress does not approve additional emergency support for the war that has been snarled by funding debates.

The warning, delivered in a blunt letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was the latest Biden administration salvo against a growing number of Republicans who are weary of shouldering the costs and political capital of a war that could grind on for years.

So far, Congress has authorized $111 billion for Ukraine and critical US national security needs, according to Shalanda Young, the White House’s budget director. In October, the administration asked for an additional $61.4 billion to continue helping the government in Ukraine stave off Russia.

But she said about 60% of the money approved so far — $67 billion — remained in the United States, largely to bolster American weapons manufacturers that have ramped up production over the last year to meet Ukraine’s insatiable demand.

Without more money to buy and supply additional weapons, Young said, the loss in US assistance “will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories.”

“We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” Young wrote in the letter, which was also sent to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, the top House Democrat, and the Senate’s two Democratic and Republican leaders.

She added: “This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now.”

Over the last several months, as aid has dwindled and Ukraine has struggled to push back Russian troops in a counteroffensive that has largely stalled, allies have openly worried about whether the United States will sustain its support of the nearly two-year war. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is expected to raise the subject again this week on a visit to Washington, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent considerable time at a high-level NATO meeting last week trying to assuage doubts in Europe.

In battlefield interviews, Ukrainian soldiers said the amount of American weapons and other equipment had already begun to drop. In a bunker of a front-line artillery unit more than 150 miles north of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine, soldiers recently looked at a screen of Russian armour arrayed across the enemy lines. They only had 20 shells per day allotted to them, which meant they could realistically hope to take out two targets.

When the same unit was in Kherson on the offensive last summer, they had five times as much ammunition at their disposal, the soldiers said.

European states, most notably Germany, have tried to fill the gap with more air defence systems, ammunition and other supplies, but will not be able to meet Ukraine’s demands until the Continent’s defence industry ramps up — a process that will take at least a year, and most likely longer.

Five American defence companies were the world’s top arms producers in 2022, according to an analysis released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But even their revenues dropped last year as war demands stretched capacity because of labour and supply shortages, the study concluded.

The debate over more war funding is being driven by Republicans in Congress who want sweeping changes to the US immigration system included in a $106 billion aid package that includes about $61 billion for Ukraine.

A bipartisan group of senators who are trying to broker a compromise have agreed to make it harder for migrants to be granted asylum in the United States, but that proposal has enraged some Democrats and failed to satisfy many Republicans. The impasse has held up the overall aid package, and some lawmakers have openly doubted whether it will be resolved by the end of the year.

“I will not vote for any aid until we secure our border,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, said Sunday (3) on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He added, “I’m not helping Ukraine until we help ourselves.”

The White House has predicted that the aid for Ukraine, and the rest of the emergency spending plan, will be approved by the year’s end. But Young’s letter lays bare the administration’s concerns.

The Pentagon has spent 97% of the war funding it received, totalling about $62.3 billion, according to the letter. Nearly $45 billion of that has gone directly to Ukraine, according to the latest State Department weapons tally.

The State Department and the US Agency for International Development have spent an additional $27.2 billion on economic assistance to Ukraine and civilian security assistance, such as clearing minefields. Young said that money “is just as essential to Ukraine’s survival as military assistance.”

“If Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting — full stop,” she wrote. “Putin understands this well.”

-New York Times