PRESIDENT BIDEN ASKS CONGRESS FOR AN ADDITIONAL $33 BILLION TO HELP AID UKRAINE IN RUSSIAN WAR
President Biden continues to stand in solidarity with Ukraine as he asked for an additional amount of $33 billion from Congress to aid the people of Ukraine against the deadly war with Russia.
The proposal presented to the Congress by Joe Biden also included a proposition to make amendments to several long-established criminal laws. These amendments will make it easier for the U.S. to sell off the seized assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.
The massive aid package comprises $20 billion for weapons, ammunition, and other military assistance, $8.5 billion for economic aid to the Ukrainian people, and $3 billion for humanitarian assistance. The United States has a clear stance on bolstering Kyiv and weakening Moscow as the assistance package will continue to support Ukraine for five months – the end of September.
The aid package under consideration by Congress would be more than twice as large as the initial $13.6 billion, which Congress approved last month and is now depleted. The President is hoping to hear the news of the approval and is adamant that it signifies that the United States will continue to stop Russia from atrocities in Ukraine.
“We need this bill to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” Biden said at the White House after signing the request on Thursday. “The cost of this fight – it’s not cheap – but caving to aggression is going to be more costly. It’s critical this funding gets approved and as quickly as possible.”
Biden further stated, “We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities and aggression in Ukraine every day.”
The money requested as an aid for Ukraine will be a rare form of international assistance as it can come in the form of direct financial aid.
Biden said the direct U.S. aid to Ukraine’s economy is “going to allow pensions and social support to be paid to the Ukrainian people so that they have something in their pocket.”
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to get quick approval on the assistance package as he expresses gratitude and considers it an important step.
“I am thankful to the American people and personally to President Biden for it. I hope that Congress will quickly approve this request for help to our state,” he said in a late-night video address.”
