This ought to be good….how many AI comments will this produce?
Things are looking sort of grim for Ukraine….it appears that cash and equipment is running short.
The US is running low, UK is running low and the whole of NATO is running low.
First the US….
The US will run out of money to pay for Ukrainian government salaries and services within the next month if Congress does not authorize more Ukraine aid, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US and Ukrainian officials.
The US and Ukraine’s other Western backers have been paying the salaries of about 150,000 civil servants in Ukraine. This has been done through a form of US support known as direct budgetary aid that is provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank.
According to the Journal, the World Bank has sent $23.4 billion to Ukraine through the program, with $20.2 billion funded by the US and $2 billion from the UK. USAID is expected to provide another $1.15 billion this month, but future disbursements are unclear.
A recent report from 60 Minutes showed how the US economic aid for Ukraine is not just funding the government. The US aid also subsidizes small businesses and helps purchase seeds and fertilizers for Ukrainian farmers. The owner of a knitwear business in Ukraine spoke with 60 Minutes and acknowledged funding for her company was being provided by US taxpayers.
(antiwar.com)
Read the last paragraph closely.
Now for the UK….
The UK has run out of military equipment that it can give to Ukraine, according to a senior British military source speaking to The Telegraph.
“We’ve given away just about as much as we can afford,” the unnamed source told the paper, adding that the UK had a role to play in encouraging other nations to continue arming Ukraine.
“We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defense assets and artillery ammunition, and we’ve run dry on all that,” the source said.
The UK has been a staunch supporter of the proxy war in Ukraine and has led many escalations in NATO support, including the provision of Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of 155 miles, and toxic depleted uranium ammunition for use with British-made Challenger 2 tanks.
The UK’s lack of arms for Ukraine is the latest sign that NATO support for the proxy war is fracturing. Poland recently declared it would no longer provide Ukraine with weapons over a grain spat, Slovakia elected a candidate who campaigned on ending military support for Ukraine, and Congress still has yet to authorize the additional $24 billion in spending on the war that President Biden is seeking.
(antiwar.com)
Then there is NATO’s statement….
The head of NATO’s Military Committee is urging the alliance to increase arms production, warning the “bottom of the barrel” of NATO’s stockpiles is now visible due to the massive amounts of weapons and ammunition that have been shipped to Ukraine.
Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer made the comments on the first day of the Warsaw Security Forum. He said NATO military budgets increased before the Russian invasion but that the Western arms industry did not increase production capacity.
“And that has led to higher prices already before the war. And that actually has (been) exacerbated by the fact that we now give away weapon systems to Ukraine, which is great, and ammunition, but not from full warehouses,” Bauer said, according to TVP World.
“We started to give away from half-full or lower warehouses in Europe and therefore the bottom of the barrel is now visible. And we need the industry to ramp up production at a much higher tempo and we need large volumes,” he added.
Bauer’s comments came after a British military source told The Telegraph that the UK was out of weapons to give to Ukraine. “We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defense assets and artillery ammunition, and we’ve run dry on all that,” the source said.
(antiwar.com)
I asked are cracks forming?
Now Ukraine is worried about their gravy train….
Ukrainian officials are “freaking out” over the uncertainty about new Ukraine aid being passed through Congress, a Ukrainian member of parliament told POLITICO.
“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an MP who chairs the committee on Ukraine’s integration into the EU. “We are interested in getting things sorted out so American democracy can function, and so we can restore the bipartisan consensus on supporting their own national interest by supporting Ukraine.”
Markarova also said there was $1.23 billion left in budgetary aid, which the US provides through the World Bank and pays for Ukrainian government services and salaries, among other things. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the US only has enough budgetary aid to pay for the month of October and that the funds would dry up if Congress doesn’t authorize more aid.
(antiwar.com)
We pay for their government officials?
When will this stupidity stop?
American’s could be getting war weary….
A new poll by Reuters shows only 41% believe Washington should continue to send arms to Kiev. The White House is pushing Congress to pass a $24 billion aid package for Ukraine. However, the assistance package is being held up as the House seeks a new Speaker, causing some in Kiev to panic.
The two-day Reuters/Ipsos poll found 41% of Americans support sending more arms to Ukraine, while 35% opposed further military assistance. When the same survey was conducted in May, 46% of Americans backed sending arms, while 29% were opposed.
A recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll found the country is divided on whether aid to Ukraine has been worth it. 53% responded the billions sent to Ukraine was “worth the cost,” and 45% say it has not been worth the cost. The same survey found 63% of Americans favor sending more weapons to Kiev, although Republican support slipped to 50%.
Biden’s concern for Ukraine is admirable but where is that damn concern for the people of this country?
Biden also hinted that he may have another way to get the money. “There is another means by which we may be able to find funding, but I’m not going to get into that right now,”
Where is this hidden supply of cash when the country needs it?
Finally the EU has said that with US they cannot carry on….
The EU’s top diplomat on Thursday said the European bloc could not provide Ukraine with enough support without the US amid uncertainty about when Congress might authorize the next tranche of spending on the proxy war.
“Europe cannot fill the gap of the US,” Josep Borrell said after arriving in Spain for a gathering of European leaders, according to POLITICO.
The EU is close to approving a new economic aid package for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros that would cover 2024-2027, although Hungary could further delay the package. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the massive aid package should be approved within the next few months but said US support still remains crucial.
Von der Leyen also said she was “confident” that the US would continue supporting Ukraine but acknowledged she wasn’t sure when new spending would be authorized.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the US has another tranche of economic aid worth over $1 billion to fund the Ukrainian government through the month of October. If a new aid package isn’t authorized by Congress in the next month, the funds will dry up.
(antiwar.com)
This is all so much crap.
Time for these buttwads to stop their infernal macho crap and sit down and hammer out a ceasefire deal so calmer heads can take over.
As I was writing this draft more news has come out…..Biden wants a huge package of spending on Ukraine….
President Biden is considering asking Congress for a massive $100 billion spending package for the Ukraine war, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.
The idea of the huge spending package would be to fund the proxy war through the 2024 election without having to worry about the growing opposition to the policy in Congress, as the majority of the House and the Senate currently still support arming Ukraine.
“The ‘big package’ idea is firmly supported by many throughout the administration,” a source familiar with discussions on the matter told The Telegraph. “Supporters of Ukraine want this to be a one-and-done big bill, and then not have to deal with it until after the next election.”
Defense News recently reported that multiple senators have also proposed passing a massive Ukraine aid package to get through a whole year. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put the price tag at $70 billion.
(antiwar.com)
Sorry but this situation is getting ridiculous….time for more money for Ukraine and Israel is not now.
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