Biden's $60Bln Ukraine aid request is ‘Adequate’: White House

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Jan 2024 22:41
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In efforts to support Ukraine in its conflict against Russia, Germany is set to lead a new armor capability coalition, while Latvia has committed to leading a drone capability coalition.

In this Department of Defense video, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin provides opening remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 from his home in Great Falls, Va. Austin has been recuperating at home from complications from prostate cancer treatments (Department of Defense via AP)

At the 18th iteration of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group Meeting held on Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander announced that the US and its allies within the Ukraine Defense Contact Group are strategizing to establish an initial operating capability for Ukraine's F-16 program in 2024.

"We are aiming to provide an initial operating capability for Ukraine with its F 16 program in 2024, which would entail trained pilots, platforms, but in addition, trained maintainers and sustainers, infrastructure and spare parts, ammunition, all of these pieces that the coalition's responsible for," Wallander said.

Elsewhere in her comments, Wallander announced that Germany declared its intent to spearhead a novel armor capability coalition.

Latvia also announced its commitment to lead a drone capability coalition, both aimed at supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

"Today, Germany announced that it would lead the armor capability coalition and Latvia has announced that it will lead a drone coalition," Wallander said during a press briefing.

Biden admin. asserts $60B in funding for Ukraine as adequate

At a Tuesday briefing, White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that the Biden administration considers its request for more than $60 billion in new military funding for Ukraine to be "adequate."

"I won’t negotiate in public here," Kirby said when asked if the White House is open to scaling back its request for Ukraine assistance amid Republican calls. "The president’s supplemental request that we put forward way back in October was thoughtful, it was carefully done and crafted … We believe that was an adequate request."

For several weeks, US Senators and officials from the Biden administration have been engaged in negotiations to finalize an agreement, aiming to allocate over $100 billion in supplemental funds. These funds are intended for various priorities, including Ukraine, "Israel", and US border security.

Republican lawmakers have made it clear they will only support Biden's supplemental request if it includes meaningful policy changes to stop the entry of migrants at the US southern border.

After attending a meeting with Biden last week, US House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that the current status quo on Ukraine is unacceptable and that Congress needs a clearer explanation from the Biden administration about its strategy in Ukraine.

This entails not just clarifying the endgame and ensuring accountability for US funds but also prioritizing US border security at the top of the list.

Kirby warned on Monday that the prolonged delay in providing aid to Ukraine could prompt other nations to reconsider their support for Kiev.

"I think it’s entirely possible we should expect some of our allies and partners might have to make different decisions if they see American leadership falter here, or the United States pulls back from supporting Ukraine," Kirby said while answering reporters' inquiries.