Sen. Angus King of Maine raised the future of U.S. support
for Ukraine, specifically asking about $400 million Congress had previously set
aside for Kyiv under a bipartisan measure.
Last year, Congress approved $800 million for USAI in two
stages — $400 million for 2026 and $400 million for 2027.
Officials said during the hearing that the 2026 funding
became available in March, but the Pentagon is still working through how to
allocate it.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asked about future
funding for Ukraine aid, said Washington expects European allies to take on
more of the burden.
Hegseth said Europe has enough resources to pay more of the
cost of aid to Kyiv because the Russian threat is much closer to European
countries.
“Europe can step up, Europe can fund this,” Hegseth said,
adding that if Russia’s war against Ukraine is critical for Europe, European
countries should pay for it.
Jules Hurst, acting chief financial officer of the U.S. War
Department, separately confirmed that the budget contains no USAI funding.
“There is no USAI funding in this budget,” he said.
USAI is a military aid program for Ukraine that allowed the
Pentagon to order weapons from manufacturers for Ukraine’s Armed Forces instead
of sending them directly from U.S. stockpiles. It was one of the key mechanisms
for long-term U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
Hegseth previously said the $400 million for USAI approved
by Congress in December 2025 was allocated on April 28. The money was included
in the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act.