The amount is colossal. The US Congress on Thursday, May 19, approved $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, a new example of the support Joe Biden promised Kyiv.
Within this framework, six billion dollars should allow Ukraine to equip itself with armored vehicles and strengthen its anti-aircraft defenses. Almost nine billion dollars are to ensure, among other things, “the continued existence of Ukrainian democratic institutions”, and five billion are to be used to combat global food insecurity.
After confining itself to weapons seen as defensive, Washington now sent artillery, helicopters and drones to the Ukrainian army, whose soldiers were trained in the US or in third countries to use these weapons before going back to the forehead. Around nine billion dollars of the funds approved by Congress should also enable the Americans to replenish their own armaments stocks.
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy greeted “a significant contribution to restoring peace and security in Ukraine, in Europe and in the world”. The bill, which was approved by elected members of the House of Representatives last week, now only needs to be ratified by President Biden.
Broad bipartisan support
A rarity in a Congress so accustomed to political squabbles, this $40 billion spending — equivalent to Cameroon’s GDP in 2020 — benefited from very broad bipartisan support.
“Aid to Ukraine is much more than mere charity,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell asserted hours before the upper house of Congress approved the funding by a very large majority. “American security and strategic interests will be shaped by the outcome of this conflict,” the official-elect said.
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“When it comes to Putin, we pay either now or later,” argued Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is typically reluctant to support Joe Biden’s policies.
In mid-March, Congress released almost $14 billion for the Ukraine crisis. US President Joe Biden has been calling for a significant budget increase for several weeks to support Ukraine in the new phase of the conflict, where fighting is raging in the east and south of the country. According to the US President, the funds provided by the United States to support Ukraine were in danger of drying up.