Owen posted: “The document seems to be an authorization to US defense companies to sell various defense items to Ukraine in the amount of $50 million.......and not sending US arms or tax dollars to Ukraine. The source of the $50 million for the buy is not mentioned. It could be EU money, from anywhere and defense mfg, Lockheed et al, are being authorized to take that money in return for shipping . . . not so much arms, but apparently services, as well.”
FYI-——The Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program is a US government initiative that provides grants and loans to foreign countries to help them acquire US defense articles, services, and training. It theoretically supports US foreign policy objectives by strengthening alliances, promoting regional stability, and contributing to the US defense industrial base.
FMF funding is appropriated by Congress through the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act and is managed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
As one example, In October 2023, the Joe Biden said Israel had nearly 600 active Foreign Military Financing (FMF) cases, totaling around $24 billion.
Israel has also historically been permitted to use a portion of its FMF tax dollars to buy weaponry
from its own Israeli defense firms—a benefit not granted to other recipients of US military aid.
Trump may be giving that selfsame benefit to Ukraine.
That’s not what the document said. It is a state department authorization. It is not a loan or a grant. It does not say loan or Grant. It’s authorization for defense companies to sell.