Pentagon Tells Congress Ukraine Aid Won't Be Fully Spent Until 2029, Letter Shows

A Defense Department letter sent to Congress in May and reported Monday by Reuters shows the Pentagon does not plan to finish spending $400 million in already-authorized Ukraine aid until fiscal year 2029, the same year President Trump's second term ends.

According to Reuters, a source familiar with the letter said two months after it went out, the money still has not been obligated, meaning it hasn't even been put on contract yet. The letter states the funds would be obligated sometime during fiscal 2026, which ends September 30, 2026, with final delivery of all assistance not expected until the year ending September 30, 2029.

Congress approved this money last year with support from both parties. It's meant to help Ukraine fend off Russian missile and drone attacks that have intensified as the war grinds on.

Lawmakers From Both Parties Are Frustrated

This isn't a partisan complaint. Reuters reported that Republican Senator Mitch McConnell wrote an editorial back in April criticizing the delay. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin pressed Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the timeline at a hearing last week, asking what good the assistance does Ukraine if it takes years to arrive.

Two sources told Reuters that members of Congress consider the pace unusually slow for a country in an active, ongoing war. Money sitting in a bureaucratic pipeline doesn't stop Russian missiles.

The Pentagon did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Without an on-record explanation from the Defense Department, it's important to note that slow contracting timelines for military aid are common even in peacetime, and defense procurement bureaucracy has never moved fast for anyone, Republican or Democrat administrations included. There's a real difference between deliberate stalling and normal Pentagon sluggishness, and the available reporting doesn't establish which one this is.

Trump's Tone Has Shifted, But the Money Hasn't Moved

The recent shift in Trump's tone complicates the picture. Trump has recently taken a more favorable posture toward Ukraine. He signed off on letting Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot interceptor missiles under license, and he's signaled he'll sign a Russia sanctions bill authored by Senator Lindsey Graham.

Zelenskiy is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where he plans to keep pushing for air defense systems and to finalize a drone deal with the U.S., according to a source familiar with the plans cited by Reuters. Zelenskiy is also expected to meet with all 100 senators at the Capitol that day. The House is out of session for summer recess, so that meeting won't include representatives.

What's Actually at Stake

The gap between rhetoric and dollars matters here. Trump can talk about Patriot licensing and sanctions bills all he wants, but if the Pentagon's own spending plan says $400 million already authorized by Congress won't be fully delivered until 2029, that's a concrete, measurable problem separate from any speech or signing ceremony.

This is a relatively small figure in the context of total U.S. aid to Ukraine, which has run into the tens of billions since Russia's invasion. But the pace, not just the amount, is what's drawing bipartisan criticism. Congress authorized this money expecting it to reach Ukraine quickly. Instead, the government's own paperwork says otherwise.

The unresolved question going into Tuesday's meetings: does Zelenskiy get any commitment from Trump or Senate leaders to accelerate the obligation timeline, or does the fiscal 2029 target stand? Congress has the power to demand faster disbursement or attach conditions to future authorizations, but as of this letter, no such action has been reported. Whether Tuesday's meeting with all 100 senators produces pressure that changes the Pentagon's plan is something to watch in the days ahead.