Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement after President Joe Biden announced an additional tranche of military aid to Ukraine — committing $450 million of just over $19 billion in military aid provided through the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act:
“Over a month ago, Congress passed a robust supplemental bill that provided the administration nearly $20 billion to send additional military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces. Since then, as Russia’s ferocious war wages on, especially in eastern Ukraine, President Biden has sent the Ukrainian Armed Forces only 10 percent of that amount — just over $2 billion. Despite the higher tempo of operations as the war shifted to the east, the administration is actually providing aid slower today than at the onset of the war.
“I’m glad to see the United States is providing some of the weapons and equipment the Ukrainians desperately need like long-range rocket systems and ammunition — but we should have already been sending these, in much higher quantities, for weeks at this point. The amounts announced today still aren’t enough, and this administration needs to move faster.
“I also don’t understand why the administration isn’t pushing for new weapons systems, like longer-range drones and tanks, that will give the Ukrainians huge battlefield advantages. I certainly hope that they are not being held up because the White House has deemed them too ‘provocative’ — just like they did with Stingers, tube artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems at various stages of this war. The administration eventually listened to the Department of Defense and approved the delivery of all three, but only after weeks of unacceptable delay.
“We have to do everything we can to help Ukraine win this fight against Russia, and of course, we need to be responsible about it. As each day of this war passes, the casualties mount and more Ukrainian cities are destroyed — the Ukrainians cannot afford to lose time. President Biden should stop getting in the way and start listening to his military advisers before it’s too late.”