White House delivers hammer blow to Kyiv as DC 'out of money' to fund Russia pushback
The Biden Administration sent Congress an urgent letter warning Ukraine's war efforts could soon be brought to a halt if military and economic assistance is not voted through.
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The White House has said the US is on the brink of running out of funds to help Kyiv fund its ongoing counteroffensive against Russia.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the director of the Office of Management and Budget called on members of Congress to approve tens of billions of aid to ensure the pushback can continue over the coming months.
Shalanda Young insisted that allowing the funds to run out could "kneecap" Ukraine's efforts to expel Russian forces from occupied territories.
Young said Washington DC is "out of money and nearly out of time" to ensure Kyiv can continue fighting Vladimir Putin's army.
She also warned that "if Ukraine's economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop."
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The Biden administration has been working to secure a nearly $106 billion aid package in support of Ukraine as well as Israel but has been met with resistance in Capitol Hill.
Members of Congress have increasingly questioned the size of the aid package and Republicans have been insisting on changes to Biden's border policy in exchange for the funding.
The House last week approved a standalone assistance package for Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes forward with his war on Hamas.
Biden however insisted all priorities need to be met, including additional aid to Ukraine.
In her letter, Young added: "We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight.
“This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act.”
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Congress already has allocated $111 billion to assist Ukraine, including $67 billion in military procurement funding, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance and $10 billion for humanitarian aid.
Young's warning comes days after Putin ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million.
The defense ministry said the order doesn't imply any “significant expansion of conscription,” saying in a statement that the increase would happen gradually by recruiting more volunteers.
The ministry cited what it called “the special military operation” in Ukraine and the expansion of NATO as the reasons for beefing up the army.
All Russian men from age 18 to 27 must serve one year in the military, but a large share avoid the draft for health reasons or deferments granted to university students.
The share of men who avoid the draft is particularly big in Moscow and other major cities. This year, the authorities raised the upper age limit for mandatory service to 30 starting from Jan. 1.
The Russian military rounds up draftees twice a year, starting April 1 and October 1. Putin ordered the drafting of 130,000 conscripts during the fall earlier earlier this year, and 147,000 in the spring.
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