Now that the House of Representatives, acting in an unusually bipartisan way, has finally passed a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, the big question is what the Ukrainians should spend it on.
This aid comes not a minute too soon. Russia has been gathering momentum both on the ground and in the air, threatening a summer offensive that could crack the Ukrainians’ lines and threaten their major cities. These include Kharkiv — the major city nearest to the Russian border — and possibly Kyiv itself, forcing the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the capital.
Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, a former ambassador to Russia, understands Russian President Vladimir Putin well. Burns said last week that unless the new tranche of U.S. aid was forthcoming, Ukraine was in danger of losing the war within the year. But he also said, “with the boost that would come from military assistance, both practically and psychologically, the Ukrainians are entirely capable of holding their own through 2024 and puncture Putin’s arrogant view that time is on his side.”
So, with the $61 billion of “forgivable loans” set to be approved this week by the Senate and White House, what are Ukraine’s most crucial needs? How fast can the pipeline move more weapons and ammunition into the hands of Kyiv’s brave, overachieving military?
The good news is that both the U.S. and European defense establishments have been primed for this moment over the past months. My successor as supreme allied commander at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, General Chris Cavoli, has said that it is largely a matter of turning on the spigot once President Joe Biden signs the aid bill. Cavoli’s vast command — eight full battlegroups in Eastern Europe alone — is poised to swing fully into action to deliver assistance.