DECEMBER 19, 2024 – The Defense Department is committed to helping Ukraine prevail amid Russia’s ongoing war of aggression and will continue sending key capabilities to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs in the weeks to come, a senior defense official said Monday.
The department is on track to allocate the remaining $1.2 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds approved by Congress to procure new capabilities by the end of the calendar year, the official said.
The U.S. will also continue sending Ukraine much needed equipment and munitions from DOD inventories by leveraging $5.6 billion in remaining presidential drawdown authority through the end of the Biden administration.
“The U.S. Department of Defense remains committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield, including through significant security assistance,” the official said during a call with reporters.
Earlier this month, DOD announced a $988 million package of new equipment provisioned under USAI that included unmanned aerial systems, rocket munitions and support for maintenance and repair programs. It marked the 22nd USAI package issued under the Biden administration.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has also continued to rally the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a global network of some 50 partners committed to Ukraine’s near-term battlefield needs and its long-term ability to deter future aggression.
Thirteen members of the contact group are leading eight separate capability coalitions designed to drive Ukraine’s long-term force development. Those coalitions focus on critical capabilities ranging from air defense to artillery.
The secretary will convene the 25th meeting of UDCG alongside Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in the new year where the capability coalitions will lay out their roadmaps toward “efficient and sustainable support for Ukraine,” the defense official said.
These allies and partners have also continued to meet Ukraine’s immediate battlefield needs, committing more than $59 billion in security assistance.
As a percentage of gross domestic product, more than a dozen allies and partners now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than the U.S. does.
“Our allies and partners have stepped up in a big way to first help Ukraine defend itself against Russian air strikes with everything from air defense systems to equipment to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure,” the official said.
Ukraine is also working to defend key territory in the Donetsk region as Russia continues to maneuver toward the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
“This appears to remain Russia’s main effort, and they continue to make incremental progress toward Pokrovsk,” a senior military official told reporters on Monday’s call. “In general, most of their maneuver has been toward this city on some fairly open terrain, and the Ukrainians have been ceding some of that terrain and falling back to more defensible positions.”
The official noted that while Russia has made significant progress over the long term, their progress has been slow day to day.
“As Ukrainians get to more defensible positions, we think they’ll be able to shore up the defenses and last for some amount of time defending Pokrovsk, depending on how events on the battlefield play out,” the senior military official said.
Ukraine is also working to defend territory in the Kursk border region, where Russia has launched a counteroffensive employing North Korean troops to fill out its ranks.
Approximately 12,000 North Korean troops have deployed to the region. The senior military official said yesterday that those troops have been used on the front lines and have suffered several hundred casualties, according to recent estimates.
The official added while the Russian counteroffensive has caused Ukraine to cede some territory in Kursk, Ukrainian defenses “appear to be holding at this time.”
By Joseph Clark, DOD News