Drought in Military Aid to Ukraine Enters Uncharted Territory

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Drought in Military Aid to Ukraine Enters Uncharted Territory

For more than 1,000 days, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. kept up a regular drumbeat of military support for Ukraine, sending hundreds of howitzers with millions of shells for them to fire, tens of thousands of guided artillery rockets, and advanced air-defense missile systems to help hold Russian invaders at bay.

During all that time, the question was not whether the U.S. would send more weapons, but how advanced would they be, and how far could they reach into Russia?

The exception to that rule was a 119-day ******* that began in December 2023, when Speaker Mike Johnson prevented a vote on more aid for Ukraine in the House of Representatives. That move nearly led to catastrophe for Ukraine as its troops began to run out of ammunition, prompting outrage from the White House, some members of Congress and the public.

Friday marks another grim milestone for Ukraine — the 120th day since the last new aid package was announced on Jan. 8, outstripping the length of Mr. Johnson’s devastating hold.

At the Pentagon there is silence. In contrast, during the Biden administration there were press briefings just days or weeks apart announcing arms shipments worth hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars each.

After Pete Hegseth became defense secretary in late January,

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to be “the most transparent Department of Defense in history,” but there has been only one Pentagon briefing for reporters during the Trump administration’s first 100 days.

There was no mention of additional assistance for Ukraine at the briefing, and only vague support for a cease-fire in Ukraine.

Mr. Hegseth’s office did not reply when asked whether he intended to spend the remaining $3.85 billion that Congress has authorized for additional withdrawals from the Defense Department’s stockpiles for Kyiv.

Ukraine’s bond with the United States, which once seemed unbreakable, appears to have been shelved.

During Mr. Johnson’s nearly fourth-month hold on aid, the Biden administration continued to apply pressure on Congress and kept lines of communication open with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. In November 2023, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III traveled to Ukraine to reassure Mr. Zelensky that the Biden administration had not abandoned his country.

Three months later, the Pentagon pieced together a single $300 million package that

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provided “a short-term stop gap” though “nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs.”

“Without supplemental funding,” the Pentagon said in a statement, it “will remain hard-pressed to meet Ukraine’s capability requirements at a time when Russia is pressing its attacks against Ukrainian forces and cities.”

Mr. Johnson allowed the House to vote on a new aid package in April 2024, and the Pentagon resumed the flow of arms to Kyiv. Ukrainian soldiers began to make up ground they had lost during the speaker’s hold. All told President Biden sent 74 packages of weapons during his time in office.

But there is a different holdup this year.

In February, soon after taking office the second time, Mr. Trump outlined a transactional offer that Mr. Zelensky would have to agree to in order to receive more arms shipments: share your critical minerals with the United States, or else.

On Feb. 28, when the Ukrainian president arrived at the White House — a place he had been warmly welcomed by the previous administration — in the hopes of securing a lifeline of arms shipments, he was met with a stream of verbal abuse by Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance. All on live television.

It is unclear whether the two leaders spoke again before meeting face-to-face in Rome for the ******** of Pope Francis in late April. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky were seen talking privately for about 15 minutes in St. Peter’s Basilica, leading some Ukrainians to hope things might change in their favor.

But so far there is no indication additional aid packages for Kyiv are forthcoming from the United States. As a result, Ukraine has had to rely more on European allies as well as building up its own defense industry.

Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

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