Recently, the U.S. Department of State released a financial fact sheet on U.S. security cooperation with Ukraine. Developed by the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, this document discusses the close relationship with the U.S., allies, and worldwide partners and their unified support of Ukraine. The fact sheet clearly indicates Russia’s war with Ukraine was premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified. Along with Russia’s earlier aggression in eastern Ukraine and the unlawful seizure of Crimea in 2014, the U.S. reaffirms its unwavering support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the U.S. believe Ukraine is a key regional strategic partner, stating Ukraine, “has undertaken significant efforts to modernize its military and increase its interoperability with NATO.”  According to the Bureau, urgent security assistance and providing Ukraine the needed equipment to defend itself against Russia, remains a high priority for the U.S.

State Department Says U.S. is Committed to Ukraine

The State Department says the U.S. has demonstrated an “enduring and steadfast commitment” the past 24 months through an investment of over $19 billion in security assistance.  Along with numerous command post vehicles, armored personnel carriers and unmanned arial vehicle systems, the U.S. has provided Ukraine the following materiel:

1,600 -Stinger anti-aircraft systems 9,000 – 155mm rounds Remote Anti-Armor Mines (RAAM)
8,500 – Javelin anti-armor systems 36 – 105mm Howitzers and 180,000 105mm artillery rounds
38,000 – anti-armor systems 700 – Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems
4,200 – precision-guided artillery rounds 142 – 155mm Howitzers & 924,000 155mm artillery rounds
44 – Heavy transport trucks & trailers High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs)
1,000 – HMMWVs 8 – National Adv Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)

Numerous other commodities and supplies such as power generation equipment, cold weather gear, tents and spare parts have been given to the Ukrainians.  Assistance for the funding of training, maintenance, and sustainment has also been financially provided this year.

Allies Rally Around Ukraine

Additionally, nearly 50 Allies and partner countries have provided security assistance to Ukraine, according to the report.  Since February 24, these entities have committed over $13 billion in security assistance with contributions including hundreds of long ranger artillery systems, Long-range Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), Lethal Unmanned Arial Vehicles, tanks, 10,000 short-range air defense missiles and hundreds of thousands artillery and tank rounds.

The State Departments says U.S. funding is provided for Ukraine by use of the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) which allows for rapid delivery (days or hours) of defense articles and services from Department of Defense stocks to foreign countries in response to unforeseen emergencies. Such assistance can begin arriving within days—or even hours—of approval.  However, critics have stated that these drawdowns impact military readiness.  A GAO document from 2016 states impact assessments are critical to drawdown process, as DOD needs to “identify and mitigate” potential negative impacts on military readiness that could result from providing the defense articles and services under consideration for inclusion in a drawdown package.”

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs states PDA funding has been used on twenty-six occasions since August 2021, in response to Russia’s preparation and full-scale invasion in February and continued war.  The PDAs have provided Ukraine with approximately $11.7 billion in military assistance directly from DoD stockpiles.

Additionally, over $2 billion has been provided for security assistance for regional NATO members and security partners who may be at risk for Russian aggression.  The State Department claims these dollars will provide the ability for these countries to backfill the capabilities they supplied to Ukraine.

Additionally, the report states excess defense articles have been provided to the Ukraine this year, such as Mi-17 Helicopters and 4 Coast Guard Cutters. The U.S. has over $600 million active government-to-government sales with Ukraine under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. There has been over $274 million in Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) to the Ukraine authorized by the U.S. over the past 7 years.   Since 2017, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation has provided over $34.8 million in Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs support to Ukraine.  The U.S. will fund and deploy approximately 100 demining teams, supporting a large-scale training and equip project to strengthen the Government of Ukraine’s demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capability.

 

 

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Jay Hicks is an author, instructor and consultant. With a special kinship for military personnel, Jay provides guidance on successful civilian career transition and has co-authored “The Transitioning Military Series”. He is the co-founder of Gr8Transitions4U, where advocating the value of hiring military personnel is the key focus. More about Jay and his passion can be found at Gr8Transitions4U.com.