David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

According to a new report, the Pentagon spent hundreds of millions in aid to Ukraine that was not approved by Congress.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed off on Congress’ $1.2 trillion 2024 spending bill, which included approximately $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), as Kyiv has not received funding from Congress in over a year.

However, that now-approved $300 million had already been spent by the Department of Defense, due to the fact that it was obligated under a continuing resolution from November 2023, Politico reported.  

This means that the $300 million included in the bill has no current physical value, and “is not available to us right now,” according to an anonymous U.S. official.

The Pentagon previously announced a $300 million aid package to Ukraine at the time, warning that it “exhaust[ed] the remaining USAI funds currently available to support Ukraine.”

The USAI was created when Russia invaded the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, and provides aid for longer-term purposes, Politico reported. This is a separate process from the Pentagon pulling from its reserves and transferring weapons to Ukraine directly, known as the Presidential Drawdown Authority.

The Pentagon tapped the PDA in early March, delivering an additional $300 million in emergency weapons to Ukraine. However, now both the USAI and aid available under the drawdown authority are empty, and the Biden administration is now seeking a longer-term solution to provide Ukraine $60 billion in additional aid, which has been stalled by Congress.

“DOD has repeatedly urged Congress to pass a supplemental to support Ukraine in its time of need and to replenish our stocks,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz told Politico. “For Ukraine, this supplemental is vital — there’s no other way to meet Ukraine’s needs at scale.”

Since Ukraine’s war with Russia began in 2022, the nation has taken in over $100 billion in military aid from the U.S. and the rest of the international community. However, despite this, it has failed to make any significant gains as its counteroffensive in Eastern Europe has largely stalled out amid a shortage of men and weaponry, while Russia continues to make territorial advancements. 

Following the recent terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has attempted to pin on Ukraine, there are some that theorize that the Russian population will be reignited against the eastern European nation.