Summary
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, the United States Congress has authorized $113 billion to support Ukraine through a series of military, economic, and humanitarian aid packages. The US has spent more in support of Ukraine than any individual country and more than nearly every other country combined – including wealthy European welfare states in Ukraine’s backyard.
The essentially open-ended support provided to Ukraine by the Biden Administration is unsustainable, increases the risk of a direct conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia, and distracts from more urgent national security priorities. Accordingly, Congress should not authorize more funds to support Ukraine and should instead push the Biden Administration to disentangle the US from the conflict. If more funds are authorized, they should be heavily conditioned to ensure that every dollar spent in support of Ukraine is accounted for, that the American taxpayer is not paying more for Europe’s defense than Europe, and that no weapons or military equipment sent to Ukraine undermines the US military’s capabilities in other theaters (i.e. the Indo-Pacific).
Background
The US Congress has authorized $113 billion in support of Ukraine since the beginning of 2022, roughly 60% of which is military aid. The military aid includes weapons taken from Department of Defense stockpiles via the Presidential Drawdown Authority, training of Ukrainian forces, foreign military financing, and the operational costs for US military forces deployed to countries bordering Ukraine and Russia. The non-military aid includes financial support for Ukraine’s government (including money to pay pensions), assistance for refugees, and economic development funds.
Source: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, in the first year of the war, the US provided Ukraine directly with $71 billion worth of aid (in the form of both cash and military hardware), the majority of which was military aid, while European Union institutions and member nations provided roughly half that at $35 billion, the majority of which was non-military aid.
US military aid to Ukraine has severely depleted American arsenals. The already-strained US defense industrial base cannot sustain current levels of Ukrainian munition expenditures, much less replenish American stockpiles. For example, the US has sent approximately 8,500 Javelin anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At current production rates, it would take up to 8 years to replenish our stockpiles, assuming no more missiles are sent to Ukraine. Similarly, the US has provided over 1,600 Stinger missiles to Ukraine. The US has not produced any Stinger missiles since 2003, but under maximum estimated restored production rates, it would take at least six years to replenish our stockpile. Additionally, the US has sent Ukraine over a million artillery shells. The US produces around 20,000 artillery shells a month, with plans to increase its production to between 70,000 to 90,000 shells a month over the next several years. However, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said that his forces may need up to 500,000 shells a month to sustain a counter-offensive – far outpacing current American and European production rates.
