The flow of US military aid to Kiev has now stopped, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday. His remarks came amid a debate in Congress on whether to continue support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have issued the last drawdown package that we had funding to support, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s critical that Congress move on that national security supplemental request,\u201d\u00a0Kirby told reporters at a press briefing, admitting that\u00a0\u201cthe assistance that [the US had] provided has now ground to a halt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last aid package worth $250 million was authorized by President Joe Biden in late December through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows for urgent deliveries of weapons to allies without congressional approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden has been asking Congress to vote for a $100 billion supplemental budget request he has tabled, of which more than $60 billion is slated for Ukraine. Republicans have blocked the measure, demanding that the White House and congressional Democrats agree to their plan of tightening security at the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The director of the Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young, told the press in January that the drawdown authority\u00a0\u201cis not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine,\u201d\u00a0describing the situation as\u00a0\u201cdire. While Biden has publicly pledged to back Kiev for \u201cas long as it takes,\u201d<\/em> some Republicans and the media have been questioning Washington\u2019s existing strategy, given that Ukraine\u2019s much-hyped counteroffensive has ended without significant territorial gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine\u2019s top general, admitted last year that the conflict was \u201cat a stalemate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n EU officials are also increasingly acknowledging that deliveries of weapons to Ukraine have been delayed due to production and logistical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Earlier in the month, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder, warned that the army was running out of options\u00a0\u201cto replenish the stocks.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n