The $400 million approved by the United States Congress for aid to Ukraine has been allocated by the Pentagon “to strengthen European capabilities“.
This was said by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a hearing in the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. The Pentagon chief did not go into details, Bloomberg reports, quoted by UNIAN.
“These funds were allocated to strengthen European capabilities and as of yesterday have been transferred“, Hegseth said.“
Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst, who also testified before the House of Representatives committee, said that the funds have not yet been allocated under the contract and how they will be used will depend on what defense equipment the Ukrainians choose to purchase.
Earlier, US Senator Mitch McConnell, who chairs the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, said that the $400 million in aid approved for Ukraine is “collecting dust in the Pentagon“.
“When members of the Senate Appropriations Committee requested clarification from the department's analytical department, headed by Deputy Secretary Elbridge Colby, they were denied an answer“, McConnell wrote in an article for The Washington Post.
SIPRI reports that US military spending has fallen sharply due to the end of aid to Ukraine. The drop is 7.5%. It also notes that over the previous three years, US funding for Ukraine amounted to $127 billion.
Meanwhile, it became clear that Ukraine and Norway will jointly produce drones. Several thousand unmanned aerial vehicles will be manufactured in Norway and all products manufactured under the project will be transferred to the Ukrainian defense forces. It is expected that several thousand mid-strike drones will be produced.