US capable of supporting both Ukraine and Israel, White House assures
The United States is able to support its allies both in Europe and the Middle East, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday, as a sudden escalation in Israel raised concerns over Washington’s diverting attention from the war against Ukraine.
"We believe that the United States is capable of supporting Ukraine in Europe, of supporting our allies in the Indo-Pacific, and of supporting our close ally, Israel, in its hour of need. And we believe we have the resources, tools, and capacities to be able to effectively do that," Mr Sullivan said.
"Part of our job is to ensure that we are working across all of these theatres at once. And that’s precisely what we’re doing each day."
The US national security adviser stressed that supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s full-scale aggression is much more "cost-effective… as opposed to pay the huge price later — a price that might ultimately, as it has in the past, require the actual deployment of American troops to combat."
The US is by far the largest donor of military and financial support for Ukraine, having provided approximately USD 45 billion in military equipment since Russia’s full-scale invasion last February.
The Pentagon has warned it is running out of money to plan for further donations, with only USD 1.6 billion left of the USD 25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish US military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine.