Pentagon considering tapping last source of Ukraine military funding as Congress stalls on additional aid

CNN —

The Pentagon is weighing whether to tap into the last remaining source of funding it has for military aid to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia even without guarantees that those funds will be replenished by Congress, multiple defense officials told CNN.

The Defense Department still has around $4 billion in presidential drawdown authority funds available for Ukraine, which allows the Pentagon to draw from its own stockpiles to send military equipment to Kyiv.

But the Pentagon had previously been reluctant to spend any of that remaining money without assurances it would be reimbursed by Congress through the administration’s $60 billion supplemental funding request, because taking from DoD stockpiles with no plan to replenish that equipment could impact US military readiness.

But with Ukraine growing increasingly desperate for US military aid and Republican leadership in the House refusing to hold a vote on providing more funding, senior defense officials are discussing whether there is any financial cushion internally that would allow the department to spend at least part of that remaining $4 billion to help Ukraine fight Russia.

No decisions have been made yet, officials emphasized. But the conversations about that option and other potential plan Bs have become increasingly urgent over the last several weeks as the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine has become more dire, the officials said.

Ukrainian troops have been forced to ration ammunition and have lost some ground in the east, including the key city of Avdiivka, which fell to the Russians earlier this month.

Asked about the possibility of tapping into the remaining $4 billion, Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Garron Garn said