1162020 US State Department clears Ukraine security assistance funding Is the Pentagon next

httpswwwdefensenewscomglobaleurope20190912trump-admin-clears-ukraine-security-assistance-funding-but-pentagon-money-still-in-limbo 15

Europe (wwwdefensenewscomglobaleurope)

US State Department clears Ukraine security assistance funding Is the Pentagon nextBy Aaron Mehta (authoraaron-mehta) emsp September 12 2019

462 38

Updated Sept 12 2019 at 1055 am ET with comments from the Senate

WASHINGTON mdash The US State Department has cleared $1415 million in security assistance for Ukraine including money for sniper rifles and grenade launchers mdash andanother $250 million (httpswwwdefensenewscomcongress20190903us-lawmakers-press-trump-to-release-aid-for-ukraine-to-fight-russia) from the DefenseDepartment controversially delayed by the Trump administration appears set to move as well

Speaking at a Defense Writers Group event Thursday R Clarke Cooper (httpswwwdefensenewscomsmrdefense-news-conference20190904us-ratchets-up-focus-on-incentivizing-arms-exports-to-allies) assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs announced that Congress was notified late Wednesday about thefunding Those dollars can be used 15 days after the notification should there be no objection from Capitol Hill

ldquoThe Department of State has assessed further opportunities on foreign military financing and additional opportunities on the Countering Russian Aggression accountsrdquoCooper said ldquoWe also have support to the conventional weapons destruction and abatement and weapon storage So there is a whole host of security assistance that wehave outlined and identified for Ukrainerdquo

ldquoI would anticipate there would be further notifications but we were able to get all that paperwork done and pushed to Capitol Hill yesterdayrdquo he added

An hour later during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Sen Lindsay Graham R-SC indicated that the Defense Departmentrsquos funding for Ukraine may alsomove forward saying Ukraine is ldquogoing to get the moneyrdquo

Sen Dick Durbin D-Ill later claimed that the Trump administration moved the funds in part because the Whie House was embarrassed Congress was poised to act onthe issue

The $250 million become a political flashpoint at the end of August when reports emerged that the White House requested Defense Secretary Mark Esper and then-national security adviser John Bolton to review that security assistance package The delay resulted in bipartisan criticism from Congress where support for Ukraineremains strong (httpswwwdefensenewscomcongress20181126us-lawmakers-urge-trump-to-arm-ukraine-break-silence-on-russian-blockade)

The situation expanded days later when The Washington Postrsquos editorial board wrote that it was ldquoreliably toldrdquo the Trump administration suspended the aid to pressureUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to relaunch a corruption probe into former Vice President Joe Biden mdash the front-runner in the Democratic primary to challengePresident Donald Trump mdash and his son Reportedly a prosecutor previously investigated Bidenrsquos son who had worked for a Ukrainian energy firm As a result of thePostrsquos claim House Democrats threatened to launch an investigation (httpswwwdefensenewscomcongress20190909house-democrats-probe-trump-slow-rolled-ukraine-military-aid-in-larger-effort-to-target-biden)

The latest approval for funding comes from fiscal 2018 foreign military financing and overseas contingency operations accounts ($265 million) and from fiscal 2019foreign military financing funds ($115 million)

The projects break down like this

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1162020 US State Department clears Ukraine security assistance funding Is the Pentagon next

httpswwwdefensenewscomglobaleurope20190912trump-admin-clears-ukraine-security-assistance-funding-but-pentagon-money-still-in-limbo 25

$10 million to the Countering Russian Influence Fund which helps provide ldquoadvisors equipment spare parts and training to build maritime domain awarenesssecure communications command and control marksmanship night vision disaster preparedness and special operations and territorial defense unitsrdquo Somemoney may also be used for cyber resiliency efforts$165 million in Europe and Eurasia regional funds targeted to Black Sea maritime security efforts with a focus on ldquodetecting identifying and tracking Russiansurface subsurface and long-range aircraft combatantsrdquo This may include funding for naval special warfare training$115 million in foreign military financing funding for FY19 Included in that funding are English language training medical equipment an improvised explosivedevice simulator and urban operations simulation equipment Other areas of focus include naval and maritime capability support refurbishment of equipmentairfield defense night vision devices radars vehicles and tactical communication equipment More specifically funding ldquoseeks to improve anti-armor anti-personnel and counter-sniper capabilities against Russian-led separatists by modernizing Ukrainersquos small arms weapons inventory with more precise and capableweapons including sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchersrdquo

Cooper for his part said the number of different accounts for Ukraine along with a recent visit from US Vice President Mike Pence is a sign of the Trumpadministrationrsquos focus on the region

ldquoThere is a whole host of security assistance that we have outlined and identified for Ukrainerdquo he said

Joe Gould in Washington contributed to this report

462 38

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