NEW YORK, March 29. /TASS/. The United States has spent around $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, the Fox News channel reported citing a letter from the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young.
According to a document sent in response to a request from Senator James David Vance (R-Ohio), since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the US Congress has allocated $111 billion in additional funding to provide Kiev with "life-saving security, economic and humanitarian assistance." Another $2.4 billion was redistributed to Ukraine in un-earmarked money.
In addition to major relief packages, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided $145 million and $189 million in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, respectively, for health care and embassy operations, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Fox News reports that the total spending could be much higher if the cost of replacing weapons and ammunition is taken into account.
Earlier, the US administration sent a request to Congress for additional budgetary appropriations in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1, primarily to assist Israel and Ukraine, as well as to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region.
In total, the executive branch of government led by President Joe Biden would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes.
What will happen with the request and alternative bills remains unclear. A number of Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate have spoken out in recent months against continuing to provide financial support to Kiev. Lower House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has consistently warned of his intention to link further assistance to Ukraine with tightening controls on the US southern border.
On February 13, the Senate, with the support of a number of Republicans, passed an alternative version of the bill providing for the allocation of $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. However, this package document does not stipulate tightening controls at the southern border. On February 15, the House of Representatives decided to take a two-week recess without voting on the bill.