U.S. Military Aid To Ukraine Set To Shrink
With its new, Western-leaning government threatened by Russia, there have been calls in Washington to provide more military aid to Ukraine. But over the last several years the amount of security assistance the United States has given Ukraine has been steadily declining.
In the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015, for example, Foreign Military Financing for Ukraine is slated to decline from $6.6 million in 2013 to $2 million. That aid would be used to buy American military equipment, a process that usually takes several years, so it would be of little use to Ukraine in its current standoff with Russia. And separately, the White House has proposed a 28 percent cut in funding for Warsaw Initiative programs, which fund reform of post-communist militaries; Ukraine is a major recipient.
Ukraine's new government has asked the U.S. for lethal military aid, including weapons and ammunition, though thus far the U.S. has only agreed to send field rations, known as Meals Ready to Eat. Behind the scenes, U.S. government officials have said they are considering more lethal aid. “It's not a forever 'no,' it's a 'no for now,'” a senior U.S. official told the Wall Street Journal. Nevertheless, the U.S. appears to be leaning toward nonlethal aid. What the Pentagon is considering now is “on the order of medical supplies and uniform equipment and that kind of thing,” said Pentagon spokesman Mark Kirby.
But some U.S. lawmakers are calling for more emergency aid to be given to Ukraine. Senator Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, said the U.S. could give communications equipment, while Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said Ukraine needs “everything from fuel to tires to sleeping bags to meals” and said small arms, too, may be necessary. Ukraine's military “is so weak now that there are maybe 6,000 troops ready to go to battle,” Sen. Durbin said. “We've got to strengthen them and help them with advice and backing, and it may come to small arms. I'm not ruling that out; keep it on the table. For the time being, let's help the Ukrainian army get on its feet as a self-defense force.”
(For what it's worth, the American public seems against providing military aid to Ukraine: according to a recent poll, 65 percent opposed security assistance to the country, while 26 percent supported it.)
According to data from Security Assistance Monitor, Ukraine's security assistance from the U.S. has been relatively modest even by the standards of post-Soviet countries, hovering at about $15 million per year, excluding Cooperative Threat Reduction aid (which helps post-Soviet states manage the disposal of their nuclear weapons). The bulk of that has been FMF funding, a funding stream that has steadily diminished since 2010 (when it totaled $11 million). Starting in 2013, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement aid has complemented Ukraine’s small amount of FMF funding. That aid has totaled about $2.5 million for 2013 and 2014. As such, Ukraine's aid package over the years has been similar to that of Kazakhstan, though slightly less.
This chart displays all security assistance funding to Ukraine, includng from the Cooperative Threat Reduction account. You can find data for this chart here.
The bulk of the FMF money has gone to training and communications equipment, according to the most recent data, from 2010 and 2011. “Security assistance for Ukraine is aimed at helping Ukraine’s defense reform efforts, improving interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces, and boosting the capabilities of Ukraine’s armed forces,” the Congressional Research Service wrote in a recent report.