Pentagon at the last moment activated $400 million for Ukraine

The Pentagon has made legal commitments for nearly all of the $400 million in military aid to Ukraine previously approved by the U.S. Congress. The decision was made literally before the end of the fiscal year, after which unused funds could have been lost.

As reported by The Washington Sun, Democratic Senator Chris Coons said that Pentagon representatives informed him that as of September 29, 99.8% of the allocated funding had been "obligated." That amounts to roughly $399.2 million of the $400 million provided.

In this case, obligating funds does not mean that all the aid has already been paid for or delivered to Ukraine. It concerns the legal earmarking of money for corresponding contracts and programs. After this, the funding does not expire with the end of the fiscal year on September 30, and procurement and deliveries can take place later.

A few months ago the situation was the opposite. In late July, funds from this package had not been contracted at all. By the beginning of the last week of September, the Pentagon had obligated $307 million and planned to commit the remaining $93 million before the end of the fiscal year.

The funding is provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Unlike deliveries directly from U.S. Army stockpiles, this mechanism involves ordering weapons, equipment, and services from manufacturers and contractors for subsequent transfer to Ukraine.

According to a plan previously presented by the Pentagon, about $200 million is to go for weapons, ammunition, and explosives; $99.9 million for vehicles, spare parts, and other equipment; and around $100 million for services, including transporting military hardware.

Contracts already signed, according to American media, include offensive weapons and spare parts for armored vehicles. However, interceptors for Patriot systems are not included in this package.

The delay in using the funds earlier drew criticism in Congress from members of both parties. In May, Senators Dick Durbin, Republican Chuck Grassley, and several colleagues urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the $400 million allocated to Ukraine without further delay. In a letter, they stressed that the funding had been approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis.

On April 30, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said at a Senate hearing that the money had recently been unfrozen and should soon be used. However, the process of obligating the funding stretched almost to the end of the fiscal year.

The Pentagon at the time of The Washington Sun's publication had not officially commented on the information that 99.8% of the funds had already received the status of legally obligated.

Based on materials from: The Washington Sun, office of Senator Dick Durbin