Blumenthal-Portman Ukraine Security Assistance Amendment Passes Senate as Part of FY 2018 NDAA

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) today announced that key elements of their amendment boosting security assistance for Ukraine passed the Senate as part of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Building off of previous NDAA support, the FY 2018 NDAA authorizes $500 million in security assistance, including lethal and non-lethal equipment, training, and technical assistance. For the first time, the amendment authorizes assistance to bolster Ukraine’s naval capabilities, which were severely degraded following Russia’s seizure of Crimea. The amendment also conditions U.S. aid on progress towards key reforms including instituting civilian control of the military, cooperation and coordination with Ukrainian parliamentary efforts to exercise oversight of the Ministry of Defense and military forces, and improvements in sustainment capabilities, inventory management, and security of sensitive foreign technologies. This year’s Ukraine security assistance package maintains the framework that Congress’s previous amendments to the FY 2016 and FY 2017 NDAAs helped build.

"This bipartisan effort emphasizes America's strong and sustained support for Ukraine,” said Blumenthal. “I am proud to have worked with the Connecticut Ukrainian-American community to strengthen medical assistance and training for Ukrainian soldiers wounded on the front line. I continue to call on the Administration to use the defensive tools provided by this amendment, and the previous legislation it builds on, to assist our allies in their fight against Russian aggression."

“There is longstanding bipartisan agreement on the policy tools that the United States should utilize as part of its comprehensive strategy to support Ukraine, deter future aggression against our allies and interests, and uphold the fundamental principles of the U.S.-led international system that Russia’s actions ultimately threaten. Now, the United States Senate is taking a critical step forward in its support for Ukraine,” said Portman.  “As Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine persists, and as it continues to utilize hybrid warfare techniques such as propaganda and disinformation, it is critical that the U.S. and NATO provide the sustained economic, political, and military support necessary to allow Ukraine to secure its democratic future. An independent Ukraine is critical not just to Eastern Europe, but it also impacts broader U.S. interests in the region and beyond.”

Specifically, the amendment:

• Makes the authorization a two-year authorization so that Department of Defense and Department of State have ample time to obligate and spend the money authorized to them;
• Provides greater detail on the aid conditionality and methodology for certifying Ukrainian progress toward much-needed defense institutional reforms. Key improvement goals now include sustainment, inventory management, and progress in improving the security of proprietary or sensitive foreign defense technology. DoD is also required to develop a clear methodology for certifying Ukraine’s progress;
• Adds air and coastal defense radars, naval mine and counter-mine capabilities, and littoral and coastal defense craft to the list of authorized U.S. assistance. These additions reflect the Ukrainian military’s most pressing needs that have not been covered under previous authorizations such as anti-tank weapons, secure communications, and counter-artillery radar; and
• Makes it easier for U.S. assistance to cover medical and non-medical costs associated with caring for wounded Ukrainian servicemembers and facilitates greater medical training and support for the Ukrainians.