Top White House budget official warns of ‘dire’ situation on Ukraine aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top budget official warned in stark terms Friday about the rapidly diminishing time that lawmakers have to replenish U.S. aid for Ukraine, as the fate of that money to Kyiv remains tied up in negotiations over immigration where a deal has so far been out of reach.

Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, stressed that there is no avenue to help Ukraine aside from Congress approving additional funding to help Kyiv as it fends off Russia in a war that is now nearly two years old. While the Pentagon has some limited authority to help Kyiv absent new funding from Capitol Hill, “that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine,” Young said Friday.

While the administration still has presidential drawdown authority, which allows it to pull weapons from existing U.S. stockpiles and send them quickly to Ukraine, officials have decided to forgo that authority because Congress has not approved additional money to essentially backfill that equipment — a move that Young said was a “very tough decision.” The U.S. sent a $250 million weapons package to Ukraine late last month, which officials say was likely the last package because of the lack of funding.

Young also detailed the impact that a lack of additional U.S. aid would have on Ukraine aside from its military capabilities, such as Kyiv being able to pay its civil servants to ensure that its government can continue to function amid Russia’s barrage.

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