New fleet of 76 public transport buses starts operation in Jeddah on Tuesday Environmentally friendly electric buses introduced for first time    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    EU preparing 'further countermeasures' to protect its interest, von der Leyen says    Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Biden administration announces new weapons package for Ukraine
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 03 - 2024

The Biden administration announced another package of military aid to Ukraine worth up to $300 million on Tuesday after months of warning there was no money left, with officials saying the new funding became available as a results of savings made in weapons contracts.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the package in a briefing at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
"When Russian troops advance, and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back. That's costing terrain. It's costing lives. And it's costing us, the United States and the NATO alliance, strategically," Sullivan said.
The new package includes much-needed artillery ammunition, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-armor systems and more.
In explaining how the Defense Department now has money available for Ukraine aid, a senior defense official said, "We had savings come in that will allow us to offset the cost of a new drawdown package."
The Pentagon has had approximately $4 billion in drawdown authority left to send to Ukraine — weapons and equipment pulled directly from Defense Department stocks. But the Pentagon was reluctant to use that funding, because there was no replenishment money left to refill the US inventories.
The newfound savings — the result of "good negotiations" and "bundling funding across different things," according to a second senior defense official — provided the Pentagon with an additional $300 million to use as replenishment funding, to backfill the aid sent to Kyiv.
Sullivan said the new package was possible "because of unanticipated cost savings in contracts that DOD negotiated to replace equipment we've already sent to Ukraine through previous drawdowns."
The second official gave one example of being able to buy 25mm ammunition at a cheaper cost than originally expected after contract negotiations with the vendor.
But the official made clear this is not a sustainable long-term solution to providing much-needed weaponry to Ukraine as Republican leaders in the House continue to refuse to bring a bill that would provide additional military aid up for a vote.
"This is a bit of an ad-hoc or one time shot," said the first official. "We don't know if or when future savings will come in. And we certainly can't count on this as a way of doing business."
"We weren't broke at the time, but now we are."
Sullivan said the package would only provide Ukraine enough ammunition to last weeks, and perhaps only "a couple of weeks."
"It is nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine's battlefield needs and it will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the weeks to come. It goes without saying, this package does not displace and should not delay the critical need to pass the bipartisan national security bill," Sullivan said.
The last Ukraine aid package from the US was announced in late December. At the time, the Pentagon said in a letter to Congress that the Defense Department "will have exhausted the funding available to us for security assistance" after the package was announced.
Asked if this new aid package will reduce pressure on Congress to pass a supplemental bill that includes billions in aid for Ukraine, the second official said, "It shouldn't."
"The supplemental is absolutely vital for our readiness, as well as Ukraine winning this conflict. This doesn't change that at all. It is a relatively small package to give Ukraine, the minimum of what it needs for a short amount of time."
This is not the first time the Pentagon has announced additional, unexpected sources of funding for Ukraine. Last year, the Defense Department announced that it had discovered an accounting error that led to DoD overvaluing the amount of aid it was providing to Ukraine by $6.2 billion.
That extra money provided a cushion to the department that allowed it to draw out military assistance to Ukraine for longer than anticipated, CNN previously reported.
Without the support and weapons supplies from the US, Ukraine has lost ground in the war with Russia, outnumber and outgunned by an adversary that has fully shifted its economy to a war-time footing. Last month, Russian forces raised their flag in Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine after a months-long assault.
As Ukraine lost ground, the Biden administration urged the House of Representatives to act on the $60 billion supplemental, which has already passed the Senate.
"We believe that the support is still there if the House is allowed to vote," said the second defense official. But the House's Republican leadership has refused to bring the bill for a vote, forcing the Pentagon to think differently about how to send aid to Ukraine.
"You've got to take a different risk calculus about going any further if it's no longer assured that you're going to get help," the official said. — CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.