CNN
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The Pentagon has determined that training and support for Ukrainian forces is exempt from a potential government shutdown, according to the Defense Department, and will continue even in the more likely event that Congress fails to pass a spending bill in the coming days.
The determination allows critical elements of American support for Kyiv, such as the training of Ukrainian forces and the continued transfer of weapons to Ukraine, to continue amid the ongoing counteroffensive.
“Operation Atlantic Resolve is an independent activity under a government spending spree,” said Defense Department spokesman Chris Sherwood. Operation Atlantic Resolve refers to the US effort to support Ukraine and strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. It was established in 2014 after the Russian invasion of Crimea.
But on Tuesday, Sherwood warned that the government shutdown could disrupt U.S. aid to Ukraine, warning that equipment deliveries and U.S. training efforts “could be affected by staff furloughs and suspension of DoD” activities deemed not essential to US national security.
Politico first reported the name.
With prospects growing of a potential government shutdown, an interruption of US support and training for Ukraine is coming to a critical stage, with US M1A1 Abrams tanks set to arrive on the battlefield. soon and Ukrainian pilots are about to start a training program for F-16 fighter jets.
The decision to protect US military operations related to Ukraine from the effects of a possible shutdown comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington, DC, meeting with President Joe Biden, as well as the top leaders of the Pentagon.
