Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday said that President Joe Biden’s latest aid package to Ukraine is “overdue.”
“Well, I was happy to learn yesterday and this morning that, indeed, both the White House and their counterparts in Germany are finally moving forward with these overdue steps,” McConnell said in a floor speech in the United States Senate.
“I have consistently called on the Biden Administration to be more proactive and to lead by example in delivering lethal aid like long-range weapons with greater urgency,” he added. “Germany has announced it will supply Ukraine with an initial 14 Leopard 2 tanks, and the Biden Administration is expected to send at least 30 M1 Abrams tanks, as well.”
“Of course, as we rush these long-overdue capabilities to Ukraine, the West’s work is far from over,” McConnell explained, before acknowledging that “These drawdowns of Western arsenals must also prompt serious work to expand the capacity of our defense industrial bases.”
On Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said he approved sending another aid package to Ukraine, which included 31 Abrams M1 main battle tanks. Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong detailed the package:
The package would include: 31 Abrams main battle tanks with 120mm rounds and other ammunition; Eight Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment; Support vehicles and equipment; and Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.
The new package brings the total of U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $27.8 billion since January 2021. The overall U.S. commitment to Ukraine since then is approximately $113 billion.
Biden said the U.S. would also give Ukraine the spare parts and equipment necessary to sustain the tanks on the battlefield, and that Ukrainian troops would be trained on sustainment, logistics, and maintenance “as soon as possible.”
Wong noted that Biden did not disclose the overall cost of the aid package, but following his remarks, the Department of Defense announced a package of $400 million under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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