Previously, senators expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the aid approved by the US Congress had not been used for a long time.
The Pentagon confirmed the allocation of $400 million to Ukraine, previously approved by Congress. This happened after the leading Republican in the Senate, who is responsible for defense appropriations, criticized the department for delaying the allocated funds. Dengi.ua reports this with reference to Bloomberg. The PromPolitInform portal informs.
It is noted that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking on Wednesday at a hearing in the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said that the money has already been provided.
“The funding was allocated to build European capabilities, and it was provided yesterday,” Hegseth said, without specifying additional details.
According to the publication, this topic was previously raised by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who heads the Senate Defense Expenditures Committee. In his column in the Washington Post, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the approved aid had not been used for a long time.
“The aid to Ukraine that we approved a few months ago is now gathering dust in the Pentagon. When members of the Senate responsible for appropriations tried to get an explanation from the analytical department of the department, headed by Deputy Secretary Elbridge Colby, they were refused,” McConnell wrote.
For his part, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst explained that the funds have not yet been contracted. According to him, the further distribution of money will depend on what kind of weapons the Ukrainian side decides to purchase.
It was previously reported that the first defense aid package to Ukraine within the framework of the EU loan of 90 billion euros will amount to about 6 billion euros and will be aimed at the purchase of domestically produced drones.
