A senior Pentagon official has stated that U.S. President Donald Trump will seek at least another $250 million in security aid for Ukraine in his 2020 budget request, including lethal Javelin anti-tank weapons, according to Defense News.
“Assuming of course the Congress authorizes and appropriates it, we will continue that. We do envision continuing lethal aid assistance to Ukraine,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood said this at Pentagon on Wednesday.
According to the report, such “disclosure was unusual so far ahead of the budget request’s formal presentation, typically in February or March”.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy noted that this year’s $250 million tranche, save for $8.5 million, has been executed. He also added that the Congress has extended these appropriations for the fiscal year 2020, and the same amount ($250 million) will be envisaged in the draft budget for the fiscal year 2021.
A reminder that in March 2018, the United States approved the lethal aid for Ukraine that included 210 anti-tank missiles and 37 launchers. In October 2019, the U.S. Administration approved a sale of 150 anti-tank missiles and 10 launch units for the Javelin missiles for a total sum of $39.2 million.
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The Trump administration has figured out that a majority of the American people support Ukraine and that he would probably lose alot of votes because of his withholding of the money that a bi- partisan Congress allocated in 2019.
All very welcome, but just nuts and berries compared to the $billions that go to shithole countries like Egypt and Pakistan, neither of whom face an existential threat.
I am not clear whether the javelins were sold to or gifted to Ukraine? Either way, they need a hell of a lot more, plus a state of the art air defense infrastructure.