Ukraine operations won’t be hit by likely U.S. government shutdown: Pentagon

Existing U.S. military operations supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia wil continue if the U.S. government shuts down over a spending battle that threatens new military aid.

U.S. military operations supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia will be allowed to continue if the U.S. government shuts down next month, a Pentagon spokesperson told Global News on Thursday.

A shutdown is looking increasingly likely as lawmakers once again failed to advance a key defence spending bill on Thursday, with just nine days left to agree on additional legislation that will fund the government through the end of the year.

The spending battle at the U.S. Capitol has been growing increasingly heated over several issues, including whether to continue sending military and financial aid to Ukraine.

If the dispute isn’t resolved by Sept. 30 and government appropriations lapse, however, U.S. agencies including the Department of Defense have contingencies in place to exempt certain operations from shutting down due to a lack of funding.

The exemptions will include the program that allows U.S. military training of Ukrainian soldiers on tactics and equipment, as well as weapons shipments to Kyiv, Pentagon spokesperson Chris Sherwood said in an emailed statement.

“Operation Atlantic Resolve is an exempted activity under a government lapse in appropriations,” Sherwood said, using the official name for the U.S. Department of Defense’s operations supporting Ukraine.

Politico first reported the news about the exemption.

The Pentagon’s statement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday, part of a whirlwind trip to Washington where Zelenskyy made the case for continued aid for the war effort.