“More weapons”: What will the US$40 billion allocated for Ukraine go to?

40 billion dollars

The bill provides for the allocation of funds for military, economic and humanitarian aid to Kiev. $6 billion will be used to provide weapons and security assistance, $8.7 billion will be used for economic aid and financing Ukraine’s public services, $5 billion will be used for food aid to Ukraine and other countries of the world, and another $900 million will go. To support Ukrainian refugees. In addition, $3.9 billion will be allocated to strengthen US troops in Europe.

Broadcast of the House of Representatives session has been carried out On the website of the lower house of the American Parliament. 368 congressmen voted in favor of the initiative, 57 voted against. The bill will now go to the Congressional Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-NY) has pledged to hold a vote on the initiative as soon as possible.

The White House approved the bill to be passed by the House of Representatives. The total amount of aid to Ukraine exceeded the $33 billion previously requested by the US President.

“The additional resources included in this bill will allow us to send more weapons and ammunition, such as artillery and armored vehicles, to Ukraine. They will also help us replenish our arsenal and support the US troops on the territory of NATO (countries – Gazeta.ru), ”said the statement.

Biden’s demands

On the eve, it became known that US President Joe Biden urged the US Congress to immediately approve additional appropriations to Ukraine and send the relevant bill for signature in the next few days.

“I urge Congress to immediately pass the additional Ukrainian financing law and bring it to my desk in the next few days,” Biden told parliamentarians.

Last week, it asked for $33 billion to continue military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Of this package, 20.4 billion was provided for “additional military and security assistance” to Kiev, and 8.5 billion – for economic assistance to Ukraine.

The President of the United States noted that he had de facto exhausted the funds for aid to Ukraine previously provided to him by members of Congress.

In addition, Biden signed the Lending Law for Ukraine, which facilitated the provision of military aid to Ukraine. The document was approved by both houses of the US Parliament. The law temporarily removes “certain requirements regarding the president’s powers to lend-lease defense equipment in the case of the Ukrainian government or other Eastern European countries occupied by the Russians.”

The United States had already applied the lending method during the Second World War, when it supplied weapons and strategic supplies to the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, including the Soviet Union.

Is $40 billion too little?

At the end of April, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) – a leading center for the study of military conflicts – introduced Report analyzing the military expenditures of Moscow and Kiev.

According to SIPRI data, Russia increased its military spending by 2.9% to $65.9 billion in 2021. This was the third consecutive year of growth, and in 2021, Russia’s military spending reached 4.1% of GDP.

“High revenue from oil and gas has helped Russia increase its military spending. These costs fell between 2016 and 2019. After it started to rise, ”Lucice Bero-Sudro, director of the military expenditure and weapons production program at SIPRI, is quoted in the report.

The document emphasized that Russia has recently attached great importance to the development of missile weapons and actively used it during the conflict in Ukraine.

In addition, SIPRI analysts noted that Ukraine’s military spending has increased by 72% since Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014. In 2021, spending reached $5.9 billion, accounting for 3.2% of the country’s GDP.

“Despite the enormous increase in military spending, before the outbreak of the conflict, US states and their partners were afraid to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. Largely due to systemic corruption. There was no certainty that the gun would not make it to the black market, ”says the American portal Defense News.

But soon the situation changed. On April 21, 2022, US President Joe Biden announced a massive $800 million military aid package for Ukraine. Eight days ago, the United States had provided $800 million in aid to Kiev. In total, the USA helped Ukraine eight times. The total amount of American military aid officially allocated to Kiev in all packages amounted to $ 3.35 billion, and since March 2021 – $ 4 billion.

The House of Representatives of the US Congress has approved a bill on additional aid to Ukraine amounting to $40 billion. If approved in the upper house, the document will be sent for signature to US President Joe Biden, who has previously asked lawmakers to support Ukraine. 7 billion dollars less. Gazeta.ru says what will be American aid of comparable size to Russia’s annual military budget.



Source: Gazeta

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