Now that Washington has green-lit another $60 billion for its beloved Ukraine war, it’s a good time to put forth an excellent question that House Republicans in particular should have already had an answer to, but certainly don’t: What now?
How long is the money supposed to last? How much time does it buy? To what degree will it assist Ukraine in keeping Russia at bay?
Marc Santora, a New York Times reporter based in Kyiv, did a decent job admitting this little problem on Wednesday’s episode of “The Daily” podcast: “What this package doesn’t do,” he said, “is tell us the path forward for how Ukraine can achieve what they really want, their ultimate goal, which is driving the Russians from their land and securing the kind of victory that is both lasting and just in their minds.”
As of just a few weeks ago, the U.S. had dedicated nearly $115 billion to Ukraine. Now, following Speaker Mike Johnson’s little chat with Biden White House officials (plus a traitorous nudge from Donald Trump), that number has ballooned to around $175 billion — and counting! That’s nothing to say of the half-trillion dollars it’s currently estimated to rebuild the country once this is all over, a number that just as surely climbs by the second.
To make things a little more interesting, Ukraine is quickly running out of men to fight its war. President Volodymyr Zelensky lowered the forced military service age from 27 to 25. More than half a million fighting-age men have fled the country since the start of the conflict, according to the BBC. That’s the same number of troops who are actively engaged in battle. In other words, Ukraine’s native armed force is half of what it should be. Meanwhile, Russia’s force is more than double the size of Ukraine’s.
Someone should ask the Washington Post’s Marc Thiessen, a hype-man for all the riches that Ukraine’s war is bringing to U.S. defense contractors, what good $60 billion in equipment and ammunition is if there aren’t any men to use it. (Then again, I guess the obvious answer is “all the riches that Ukraine’s war is bringing to U.S. defense contractors.”)
Predictable as ever, the stage is already being set for yet another round of Ukraine funding. “Despite the time and political capital spent on the $60 billion aid for Ukraine,” read a report in Politico this week, “some Biden administration officials are skeptical it’s enough for Ukraine to win its two-year war with Russia.” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin wrote Thursday that “without more Western help” for Ukraine — yes, more than what was just done — the country of Moldova is also under threat of a Russian takeover. A report in the New York Times said “Ukrainian officials seem skeptical that enough weapons will be delivered quickly or consistently over the coming months to keep up the momentum.”
It’s a safe $60 billion bet that this won’t be the last time that Washington, Republicans, and Democrats both, will dip into American taxpayer pockets on behalf of Ukraine. Not even close.