Pentagon to speed up granting of military aid to Ukraine

22.11.2019 09:29

Ukrinform

The U.S. Department of Defense is expediting the process of providing security aid to Ukraine so that the money could come as quickly as possible, Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell, a defense department spokesperson, has said.

"Congress did not direct accelerated obligation of the funds. The Department is nonetheless expediting the process of implementing the authorized assistance to Ukraine and is committed to obligating these funds as quickly as possible in accordance with contracting procedures as required by law," he told CNN.

On November 15, the Defense Department informed the congressional defense oversight committees that $35.2 million of the $250 million in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds, which had been subject to the hold by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the direction of the White House, remain unspent. $15.5 million of the unspent funds are intended for lethal equipment and radars.

On November 18, Senate Democrats sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper demanding answers regarding the Trump Administration's continued delay of military aid to Ukraine.

According to senators, the hold on USAI funds by the Office of Management and Budget at the direction of the White House "is why these funds remain in the U.S. Treasury, rather than with Ukraine as Congress intended."

Previously, Congress passed a continuing resolution that provided the Defense Department the authority to keep spending the money until September 30, 2020.