WASHINGTON, October 1. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden signed a bill on Friday approving appropriations through December 16, 2022, including an additional $12.4 billion to support Ukraine, the White House said.

The initiative was earlier approved by the US Congress. "On Friday, September 30, 2022, the president signed into law the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023," which provides fiscal year 2023 appropriations to Federal agencies through December 16, 2022, for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government and includes supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Ukraine," the White House in a press release.

The bill to continue funding the government was to be passed by both houses of the Congress before Friday midnight, local time, otherwise there would have been a partial government shutdown.

The bill will also enable the US leader to authorize the transfer of $3.7 billion worth of weapons from US stocks to Ukraine to support the country’s armed forces.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a special military operation in response to a request for help from the leaders of the two Donbass republics. He underscored that Moscow had no goal of occuping Ukrainian territories, planning instead to demilitarize and denazify the country.

The West retaliated with sweeping sanctions against Russia. Western countries have also been supplying weapons and military equipment to Kiev. A number of Western politicians acknowledged that this has effectively been an economic war against Russia.

On March 16, Putin stated that the Western policy of sanctions against Moscow had every hallmark of aggression, adding that the policy of deterrence of Russia has been the long-term strategy of the West.