If Congress approves the funding, this is how the US could send weapons to Ukraine for its war with Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pentagon could transfer weapons to Ukraine within days if Congress approves a long-delayed aid bill. This is because it has a network of storage sites in the US and Europe that already store the ammunition and air defense components that Kiev desperately needs.

Acting quickly is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said Thursday, warning that without additional U.S. help, Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “We would love to be able to accelerate security assistance in the volumes we think they need to be successful.”

If about US$61 billion in financing for the war-torn country to get the green light, “we have a very robust logistics network that allows us to move material very quickly,” Ryder told reporters on Thursday. “We can move in within a few days.”

The Pentagon has had supplies ready for months but hasn’t moved them because it’s out of money. It has already spent all the funding that Congress had previously provided to support Ukraine, sending more than $44 billion in weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts since then. Russian invasion in February 2022.

In December, the Pentagon was $10 billion in the holebecause it will now cost more to replace the systems it sent to the battlefield in Ukraine.

As a result, the Pentagon’s frequent aid packages to Ukraine dried up because there was no guarantee that Congress would approve the additional funding needed to resupply 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 the military services have what they need to fight and protect America.

Delayed weapons deliveries have forced Ukrainian troops to spend months rationing their dwindling ammunition supplies.

House Speaker Mike JohnsonR-La., is pushing the Ukraine funding bill for a weekend vote, despite threats from within his party that he will do so could cost you your job. If Congress passes the bill, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said he will sign it “immediately,” which triggers the Pentagon to begin removing stored weapons to deliver them to Ukraine.

Here’s how the US can quickly transfer weapons to Ukraine:

PRESIDENTIAL WITHDRAWAL AUTHORITY

When an aid package for Ukraine is announced, weapons are provided either through presidential withdrawal authority, which allows the military to withdraw immediately from its arsenals, or through security assistance, which finances long-term contracts with the defense industry to get the systems.

The Presidential Withdrawal Authority, or PDA as it is known, allowed the military to send billions of dollars worth of ammunition, air defense missile launcherstanks, vehicles and other equipment to Ukraine.

“In the past, we have seen weapons transferred through presidential withdrawal authority arrive in a matter of days,” said Brad Bowman, director of the military and political power center at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

These stocks are drawn from bases or storage facilities in the US or from European locations where the US has already produced weapons to reduce the time needed to deliver them once funding is approved.

DECREASE IN US STOCKS

As the war in Ukraine dragged on, the US began sending ever larger, more lethal and more expensive systems to the war front. They included complete air defense systems, armored vehicles, sophisticated missiles – even Abrams tanks.

These systems cost more to replace, so the military – in particular the Army – became increasingly indebted. To compound this situation, the military has, in some cases, chosen to replace older systems sent to Ukraine with more expensive, high-tech domestic systems.

As a result, Army leaders recently told Congress that without passage of the foreign aid bill, they will begin to run out of money and will have to transfer funds from other accounts.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Gen. Randy George, the Army’s chief of staff, said the branch would not have enough money to bring home troops serving in Europe or to train units in the United States.

US GUN STORAGE

The military has huge weapons storage facilities in the US to millions of rounds of ammunition of all sizes that would be ready for use in case of war.

For example, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma spans 45,000 acres (70 square miles) connected by rail and is tasked with transporting up to 435 shipping containers – each capable of carrying 15 tons (30,000 pounds) of munitions. – if ordered by the president.

The facility is also an important storage location for one of the most commonly used munitions on the Ukrainian battlefield, 155mm howitzer shells.

Ukraine’s search for this specific projectile it put pressure on US arsenals and pressured the military to see where else they could get it. As a result, tens of thousands of 155mm rounds were shipped back from South Korea to McAlester to be retrofitted for Ukraine.

WEAPON STORAGE IN EUROPE

According to a US military official, the US would be able to send certain munitions “almost immediately” to Ukraine because there are warehouses in Europe.

Among the weapons that can fire very quickly are 155mm rounds and other artillery pieces, along with some air defense ammunition. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the undisclosed preparations.

A number of sites in Germany, Poland and other European allies are also helping Ukraine maintain and train forward-deployed systems. For example, Germany created a maintenance center for Kiev Leopard 2 tank fleet in Poland, close to the border with Ukraine.

Nearby maintenance centers speed response times to perform necessary repairs on Western systems.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.