Monday, December 30th, Washington announced the last package of defense aid for Ukraine in 2024. An official statement from the White House reads, $1.25 billion is allocated under the Presidential Drawdown Authority program, where weapons are drawn directly from the Pentagon's inventory, and $1.22 billion under the USAI program to order military equipment for Ukraine from American manufacturers.
The specific contents of the package under both programs followed soon but were not divided between immediate supplies and delayed provisions to be shipped once they are manufactured. The former aims "to meet its most urgent needs, including: missiles for air defense; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons." The latter will sustain Ukraine's need for air defense, air-to-ground weapons, and unmanned aerial systems long term.
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The key capabilities sent with this commitment include:
- missiles for NASAMS and HAWK air defense systems;
- Stinger MANPAD missiles and anti-drone missiles;
- ammunition for HIMARS artillery rocket systems (munition type unspecified);
- 155mm and 105mm artillery shells;
- air-to-ground munitions and HARM anti-radar missiles;
- Javelin, AT-4, and TOW anti-tank weapons; and more.
In addition, the United States will transfer "hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles." This aligns with the previously announced "avalanche of weapons" that was promised by presidential aide Jake Sullivan early December.
Still, an important question remains: how much funding will the U.S. Department of Defense has left to help Ukraine by January 20, when president-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated. While there is some clarity about the USAI program since the White House immediately noted that this package was the last one planned, there are yet unspent funds in the PDA account.
After December 12, when nearly $500 million in weapons and military equipment was allocated under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, $2.8 billion in funding planned for 2024 remained in the account. Accordingly, with this new December 30 package, $1.55 billion should have been left in the PDA program pool. The current president's administration has 20 more days in power to spend this money on aid to Ukraine.
But this is if we count only the funds that were included in the 2024 budget. After all, there is still $2.8 billion that returned to the pot after an accounting error was discovered in the summer of 2023. However, the fate of these billions is vague, and American authorities seemingly prefer not to remember their existence.
Either way, Joe Biden assures in his message: "At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office."
Read more: Multiple Countries Invested $931 Million in Ukraine's Defense Industry in 2024
