On April 30 (US time), the Pentagon confirmed that the 2027 fiscal budget draft does not have allocations for military aid programs for Ukraine.
This information was released by the Pentagon's Budget Controller - Mr. Jules Hurst - when speaking before the US Senate Armed Services Committee. He said that the budget does not include funding from the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), a program implemented by the US to provide military and equipment support to Kiev in recent years.
According to Mr. Hurst, the failure to include this funding in the 2027 draft budget reflects the orientation of budget allocation in the coming period, and also shows that current support programs will be considered separately or through additional budget packages if necessary.
However, Mr. Hurst said that the US Department of Defense will soon deploy a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine that was previously approved by Congress. According to him, this funding has only been disbursed recently and needs more time to complete the internal allocation process before being put into practical use.
He also said that the Pentagon will coordinate with the US European Command to ensure that the use of this aid source is appropriate to the needs and deployment plans in the region.
Previously, Senator Mitch McConnell said that the US Department of Defense is delaying the implementation of the aforementioned aid package. In an article published on April 29 in The Washington Post, he said that the agency has not responded to relevant requests from Senate committees regarding disbursement progress.
Mr. McConnell also mentioned the role of Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby in handling issues related to this aid, saying that the delay needs to be clarified.
The draft US defense budget is a document proposed by the government and will be considered and discussed by Congress before being officially approved. In this process, the contents, including expenditures for foreign aid, may be adjusted or supplemented.
The failure to include new aid to Ukraine in the 2027 budget draft is considered a noteworthy point in the context that US military support policy for this country is still being monitored and assessed in the near future.
