By — Tara Copp, Associated Press Tara Copp, Associated Press By — Lolita Baldor, Associated Press Lolita Baldor, Associated Press By — News Desk News Desk Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-pentagon-holds-news-briefing-as-senate-considers-military-aid-to-ukraine-and-israel Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Pentagon holds news briefing as Senate considers military aid to Ukraine and Israel Politics Updated on Apr 23, 2024 4:28 PM EDT — Published on Apr 23, 2024 12:45 PM EDT Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder will hold a news briefing as the Senate considers military aid to Ukraine. Watch in the player above. The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days once Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That’s because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that already hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. WATCH LIVE: Senate debates military aid to Ukraine and Israel Moving fast is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said this past week, warning that without additional aid from the U.S., Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year. The House approved $61 billion in funding for the war-torn country Saturday after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed a larger foreign aid bill toward a vote despite threats from within his party that doing so could cost him his job. It still needs to clear the Senate. After the House vote, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he was grateful “for the decision that keeps history on the right track.” He said on X, formerly Twitter that the House action “will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.” President Joe Biden has said he would sign it “immediately.” If that happens, “we have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly,” Ryder told reporters this past week. “We can move within days.” The Pentagon has had supplies ready to go for months but hasn’t moved them because it is out of money. It has already spent all of the funding Congress had previously provided to support Ukraine, sending more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. By December, the Pentagon was $10 billion in the hole, because it is going to cost more now to replace the systems it sent to the battlefield in Ukraine. As a result, the Pentagon’s frequent aid packages for Ukraine dried up because there’s been no guarantee Congress would pass the additional funding needed to replenish the weapons the U.S. has been sending to Ukraine. The legislation would include more than $20 billion to restock the Pentagon’s shelves and ensure that the military services have what they need to fight and protect America. The lag in weapons deliveries has forced Ukrainian troops to spend months rationing their dwindling supply of munitions. By — Tara Copp, Associated Press Tara Copp, Associated Press By — Lolita Baldor, Associated Press Lolita Baldor, Associated Press By — News Desk News Desk
Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder will hold a news briefing as the Senate considers military aid to Ukraine. Watch in the player above. The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days once Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That’s because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that already hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. WATCH LIVE: Senate debates military aid to Ukraine and Israel Moving fast is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said this past week, warning that without additional aid from the U.S., Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year. The House approved $61 billion in funding for the war-torn country Saturday after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed a larger foreign aid bill toward a vote despite threats from within his party that doing so could cost him his job. It still needs to clear the Senate. After the House vote, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he was grateful “for the decision that keeps history on the right track.” He said on X, formerly Twitter that the House action “will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.” President Joe Biden has said he would sign it “immediately.” If that happens, “we have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly,” Ryder told reporters this past week. “We can move within days.” The Pentagon has had supplies ready to go for months but hasn’t moved them because it is out of money. It has already spent all of the funding Congress had previously provided to support Ukraine, sending more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. By December, the Pentagon was $10 billion in the hole, because it is going to cost more now to replace the systems it sent to the battlefield in Ukraine. As a result, the Pentagon’s frequent aid packages for Ukraine dried up because there’s been no guarantee Congress would pass the additional funding needed to replenish the weapons the U.S. has been sending to Ukraine. The legislation would include more than $20 billion to restock the Pentagon’s shelves and ensure that the military services have what they need to fight and protect America. The lag in weapons deliveries has forced Ukrainian troops to spend months rationing their dwindling supply of munitions.