Kaine & Cornyn Announce Legislation to Support Ukrainian Defense

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) announced the introduction of the Fast Tracking European Investment in Ukraine’s Defense Act, a bipartisan bill that would boost Ukraine’s defense by allowing for the more consistent and timely provision of high-volume, low-tech munitions critical to the country’s fight against Russian aggression. The legislation would foster greater investment by our NATO allies in Ukraine’s defense—as well as build out the capacity of the U.S. defense industrial base. “Ukrainians have demonstrated incredible resilience and adaptability on the battlefield, and I’ve been proud that since the war began, the U.S., NATO, and our other partners have come together to support Ukraine’s defense in the face of Putin’s brutal invasion,” said Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. “This bipartisan legislation would allow us to better support Ukraine by boosting collaboration with our partners and helping ensure the timely transfer of urgently-needed low-tech munitions.” “Third-party transfers of high-volume munitions have helped Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression while also ensuring our European allies share the cost burden, and it’s unfortunate that this valuable tool is often caught in a cumbersome arms export approval process,” said Cornyn . “Our commonsense legislation would cut red tape to expedite the process for our allies to purchase and transfer certain munitions to Ukraine so they can continue their fight against Putin’s unprovoked invasion, and I’m proud to join Senator Kaine to introduce it.” Third-party transfers of high-volume artillery and rocket munitions have been essential to keeping Ukraine supplied and ensuring European partners are sharing the burden. However, each transaction requires a lengthy arms export approval process by the U.S. government, and many of these transactions consist of the same low-tech munitions. This rigorous process is hindering Ukraine’s ability to receive critical munitions and hurting battlefield effectiveness. Specifically, the Fast Tracking European Investment in Ukraine’s Defense Act would: Amend the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) to preauthorize the purchase and transfer of certain high-volume, low-tech munitions to Ukraine by NATO members and other countries until December 31, 2030 with the option of an extension through 2035. Munitions include: 155mm Artillery Shells 155mm Excalibur Extended Range Artillery Shells High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) Munitions Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Munitions Requires the Government of Ukraine to provide a written guarantee that it will not transfer any such articles without receiving consent from the U.S. Maintains all current end-use monitoring and congressional oversight legal requirements. Full text of the legislation is available here . ###