Hegseth says $400M in Ukraine support released after McConnell's angry op-ed

Source: The Hill

04/29/26 5:18 PM ET


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said $400 million in Ukraine support was released after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) penned an angry op-ed criticizing the stall in funding. “The department recognizes that $400 million was allocated for European capacity building, and as of yesterday, it has been released,” Hegseth said in response to a question about the aid from Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.).

Elfreth followed up to ask whether the money was released under contract. Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III said the aid was “not under contract, but released to be put under contract.”

When pressed by Elfreth on when the money would be able to be used on the ground in Ukraine, the comptroller said, “That depends on what they buy with the money.”. “We’re going to take the advice of the EUCOM commanders, we employ those funds for best use,” he added, referring to U.S. European Command.

Throughout her line of questioning, Elfreth cited McConnell’s anger that the bipartisan funding was not released sooner. “Despite some public belittling, Ukraine has stepped up perhaps more than any other ally for us in the Middle East,” the Maryland representative said at the start of her questioning.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5856026-pentagon-releases-ukraine-aid/