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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — “I need ammunition, not a ride,” was what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly said when the U.S. offered to evacuate him at the start of Russia’s invasion more than two years ago.
True or not, the defiant response motivated a broad coalition of more than 50 nations, led by the United States, to help Kyiv fight Russia by providing ammunition, weapons and training.
Lately, however, the U.S. has been offering more words than ammunition.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin talked a good game ahead of Tuesday’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathering, promising that the world’s democracies won’t let Kyiv down.
But he didn’t have much concrete help to offer, given that a $60 billion emergency military aid request has been blocked for months in the U.S. Congress.
“Our allies and partners continue to step up, U.S. must also. Today, Ukraine’s survival is in danger and U.S. security is at risk, they don’t have a day to waste and we do neither,” he told reporters at Germany’s Ramstein air base.
“We certainly would hope this supplemental [aid package] would be passed soon. I am optimistic we will see some action moving forward, but this is a thing you can’t predict.”
The Pentagon scraped the bottom of the barrel last week in coming up with a $300 million military aid package that includes ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 155mm and 105mm artillery shells.
Austin admitted that while Ukraine waits for the political deadlock in Washington to break, Russia has made a series of battlefield gains.
But EU heavyweights France and Germany were keen to downplay the absence of funding from the U.S.
“We all know that there are a few difficulties in the Congress, and yet Lloyd Austin … is here, we need him, we mustn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” said French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, echoing comments by his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, who said the “Ramstein format,” in which military aid is organized through the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, still worked.
Lectures instead of ammo
Austin isn’t the only American attempting a positive spin.
Earlier this week, U.S. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham was in Kyiv only a few weeks after he voted against his country’s emergency aid package for Ukraine.
He informed Zelenskyy that “given the crisis at the United States’ southern border and its overwhelming state debt, President Trump’s idea of turning aid from the United States into a no-interest, waivable loan is the most likely path forward.”
“I reiterated that the House’s Ukraine aid legislation must include some American border security provisions,” Graham said in a post on X.
He also urged the Biden administration to send longer-range artillery and accelerate F-16 fighter jet training for the Ukrainians — a call the White House can’t answer until the blocked supplemental bill is passed.
“It is clear Ukrainians appreciate the United States’ support. I know Americans want to help our friends and allies, but I also believe we must consider our economic situation as we help others,” Graham said.
Ukraine’s needs
On Tuesday, Ukraine came to the 20th meeting of the Ramstein format with a laundry list of asks including more air defense systems and missiles; long-range missiles; artillery ammunition; modern electronic warfare systems; and armored vehicles, the Ukrainian defense ministry said.
“It’s not surprising that Ukraine requires more and quicker military aid from its partners. We have increased our own defense output threefold from last year and will increase it sixfold this year,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday. “The scale of war is enormous, which is why we still require military supplies from allies.”
Ukraine did come out of the meeting with a new €500 million military aid package from Germany and more pledges from Poland and other members of the coalition.
European allies have significantly ramped up military production and purchases of ammunition from third countries to help Ukraine, helping fill the gap caused by the U.S. delay. But that doesn’t end the need for U.S. support, Kuleba said.
“This is about trust in the capacity of the United States to support the countries that stand by the same rules and principles as the United States, to defend all over the world. It’s broader than just being about Ukraine.”
Veronika Melkozerova reported from Kyiv, Laura Kayali reported from Ramstein Air Base, Paul McLeary reported from Washington.
