Government Shutdown Will Not Stop Ukraine Funding, Pentagon Says

Although the federal government is on the verge of a shutdown, funding to the corrupt Ukrainian regime will continue.

The Pentagon said its Ukraine operations will be exempt from a government shutdown.

“The Pentagon will exempt its Ukraine operations from a potential shutdown if lawmakers can’t agree on a deal to fund the government by the end of the month, allowing key training and other activities in support of Kyiv’s forces to move ahead uninterrupted, according to a Defense Department spokesperson,” Politico reports.

BREAKING: Pentagon has decided to exempt Ukraine operations from a potential shutdown if lawmakers can’t agree on a deal by the end of the month – Politico pic.twitter.com/qlslE5pHF3

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 21, 2023

There’s reportedly chaos and stalemate in Congress as the September 30th deadline approaches to advance a stopgap funding bill.

Yet, the money will continue flowing to Ukraine.

🚨 JUST IN: The Pentagon has decided to EXEMPT Ukraine operations from a potential government shutdown if lawmakers fail to reach a deal by the end of the month.

This means tens of billions will continue flowing into Ukraine regardless.

Why is that even legal? pic.twitter.com/GKcCPb9aTb

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 21, 2023

Politico reports:

But if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement and government appropriations lapse, DOD has decided to continue activities supporting Ukraine, DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood told POLITICO Thursday — just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley and other senior leaders at the Pentagon.

“Operation Atlantic Resolve is an excepted activity under a government lapse in appropriations,” Sherwood said, referring to the named operation for DOD’s activities in response to the Russian invasion.

The move means that the U.S. military’s activities related to the war, such as training of Ukrainian soldiers on American tactics and equipment, as well as shipments of weapons to Kyiv, will continue despite any potential shutdown. As recently as Tuesday, Sherwood had said the shutdown could halt those activities, as POLITICO first reported.

It’s good news for Zelenskyy, as U.S. and European officials worry that international support for continuing to aid Ukraine could be waning. Zelenskyy also pleaded his case with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday morning before heading to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden.

On Thursday, the Biden administration announced another $325 million weapons package for Ukraine.

From the U.S. Department of Defense:

As President Biden just announced, the Department of Defense is sending an additional security assistance package to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-seventh tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. This package includes additional capabilities to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses as it faces brutal aerial assaults from Russia, dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) which are helping Ukraine on the battlefield, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment to meet Ukraine’s critical needs and to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

The capabilities in this package, valued at up to $325 million, include:

• AIM-9M missiles for air defense;
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• Avenger air defense systems;
• .50 caliber machine guns to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems;
• 155mm artillery rounds, including DPICM;
• 105mm artillery rounds;
• Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
• Over 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
• 59 light tactical vehicles;
• Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
• Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.

This security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine that remained after the PDA revaluation process concluded in June as well as assistance under a new PDA.