NATO pushes US to spend $4B Pentagon still hasn't used for Ukraine

Pentagon still has almost $4 billion in funding that Congress approved last year to send weapons to Ukraine directly from US warehouses.

One of the CNN sources said that some NATO allies, including the UK, are urging the US to use this authority to put more pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin. They have even offered to reimburse the United States for the costs.

The chairmen of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Sens. Roger Wicker and Jim Risch, introduced a bill that would establish a Treasury fund into which allies could contribute money to offset the cost of military equipment transferred to Ukraine.

Another source with knowledge of the matter indicated that the Pentagon is likely to let the $4 billion in funding authority expire.

US aid

The Defense Department has about $4 billion in presidential funds for Ukraine since last year, which allows the Pentagon to use its own stockpiles to send military equipment to Kyiv.

However, the Pentagon did not want to spend any of the remaining money without guarantees that it would be reimbursed by Congress through the administration's request for additional funding of $60 billion, as withdrawals from the Defense Department's stockpile without a plan to replenish the equipment could allegedly affect US military readiness.

Last month, it became known that US President Donald Trump, for the first time since his return to office, is preparing a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, which will be provided under the presidential authority to reduce military resources.

Shortly before that, Trump said that he was considering providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.