The U.S. will host the monthly gathering of some 50 countries struggling to meet Ukraine’s demands for the support it needs to repel Russia, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convening events from home Tuesday via a Zoom call.
The meeting will be virtual because Austin, 70, is still recuperating and housebound after his prostate cancer treatment last month.
He developed an infection a week later and was hospitalized Jan. 1 and admitted to intensive care.
During Austin’s time at Walter Reed, the U.S. launched a series of military strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, targeting dozens of locations linked to their campaign of assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
In the latest Ukraine developments, AP reports the U.S. is struggling to deliver additional munitions because the money for replenishing those stockpiles has run out and Congress has yet to approve more funds.
The Pentagon released its last security assistance for Ukraine on Dec. 27, a $250 million package that included 155 mm rounds, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and other high-demand items drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles, as Breitbart News reported.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $44.2 billion in security assistance since Russia invaded in February 2022, leading the global response by flooding Kyiv with U.S. taxpayer dollars.
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About $23.6 billion of that was pulled from existing military stockpiles and almost $19 billion was sent in the form of longer-term military contracts, for items that will take months to procure.
So even though funds have run out, some previously purchased weapons will continue to flow in, the AP report sets out. An additional $1.7 billion has been provided by the U.S. State Department in the form of foreign military financing.
Tuesday’s meeting will focus on longer-term needs, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday.
“Even though we aren’t able to provide our security assistance right now, our partners are continuing to do that,” Singh said.
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