$100 Billion for 1,000 Days: How the West Kept Ukraine in the Fight

Military and financial support from the United States and the West is the main reason Ukraine has been able to resist Russian aggression for so long.

A US-led international coalition of over forty countries has provided over $100 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

In return, the Ukrainian military was able to hold off and in many cases defeat Russian forces for over 1,000 days, while significantly degrading the Russian military’s conventional capabilities.

Military aid to Ukraine

When it comes to military aid, the United States is by far Ukraine’s main supporter. With security assistance packages worth over $62 billion, the United States has provided the Ukrainian military with critical weapons systems and support capabilities.

To name just a few key transfers, the United States has provided Ukraine with M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), MGM-140 Army Tactical Ballistic Systems (ATACMS), MIM-104 Patriot air defense batteries, and M1 Abrams main battle tanks. M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M-777 155 mm towed howitzers, M109 Paladin 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, T-72B main battle tanks, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), FIM-192 Stinger shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, over 4 million Artillery ammunition and more than 500 million small arms bullets and grenades. These are just some of the weapon systems and capabilities provided to Ukraine.

As a manufacturing country, the USA has also authorized other countries to supply Ukraine with F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.

As for the transfer of these weapons systems to Ukraine, the United States has done so in two different ways: Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) packages and Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) packages.

PDA packages are drawn from the Pentagon’s existing stocks to provide immediate assistance and capabilities to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Of course, the US military has deployed weapons systems from its reserves so as not to jeopardize its global deterrent position. But these older weapon systems are also effective against the Russian military.

USAI packages provide the Pentagon with money to purchase brand new capabilities for the Ukrainian military. Although these weapon systems are new, they may take years to be delivered to the Ukrainian military.

The United States and its allies have also sought alternative methods to finance Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.

Alternative financing methods

On Tuesday, the United States sent Kiev the first tranche of loans generated exclusively from profits from seized frozen Russian assets. Kiev said the first loan was worth $1 billion and was intended to help Ukraine survive Russian aggression. Japan will also transfer $3 billion from seized frozen Russian assets. In early December, the United States announced that it would send Ukraine around $20 billion from seized frozen Russian assets.

Since the war began on February 24, 2022, there has been international pressure to seize Russian assets from around the world and hand them over to Ukraine for defense. Although it has taken more than 1,000 days, the United States and its partners are now moving in the right direction. For example, under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans initiative, the Group of Seven will provide about $50 billion to Ukraine in 2025 from the profits from confiscated frozen Russian assets; The funds will be used to support the Ukrainian military as well as provide significant financial relief to the Ukrainian government.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is an experienced defense journalist specializing in Special Operations and a Greek Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army Headquarters). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, SandboxxAnd SOFREP.

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