Media: US Army facing funding shortfall amid Ukraine aid
Top US military officials are expressing concerns over the Army's funding outlook amid the Biden administration's failure to secure another aid package for Ukraine, TASS reports
Citing sources within the US Armed Forces, the CNN TV channel reported that the US Army could run out of money as early as May 2024.
“If we don’t get a base budget, if we don’t get Ukraine supplemental [funding package], if the government shuts down, if we get nothing else and nothing changes from today … we will run out of [operations and maintenance] funding in May,” an unnamed US Army official stressed.
Should Congress fail to approve new funding for Ukraine within a few months, the Army will be forced to make ‘hard decisions and divert money from less critical projects,’ CNN noted. It is also reported that the US military will have to divert funds from barracks construction or enlistment incentives amid record-low recruiting.
According to CNN, the US Army has spent over $430m on various programmes and operations since October 2023, including training Ukrainian troops, transporting equipment, and US troop deployments to Europe.
