McConnell Blasts Pentagon for Sitting on $400-M in Ukraine Aid

Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who now chairs the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is criticizing the Pentagon for failing to disburse $400 million in military aid to Ukraine authorized by Congress, Alexander Bolton reported for The Hill.

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) now chairs the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. (Photo: Senator Mitch McConnell Facebook)

McConnell also singled out Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy, as a potential obstacle to releasing the aid supported by Republican lawmakers last year.

“Republican majorities on both armed services committees authorized $400 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for each of the next two years.

Appropriators fully funded that authorization for fiscal 2026 with overwhelming support,” McConnell wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post.

“Yet the Ukraine aid we passed months ago is now collecting dust at the Pentagon,” he added.

“When Senate appropriators have sought an explanation from the department’s policy shop, led by Undersecretary Elbridge Colby, they’ve been stonewalled.”

The $900 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 includes $400 million for Ukraine in 2026 and another $400 million in 2027 through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

The funding is intended to support the production of high-priority weapons by U.S. companies for Ukraine’s armed forces.