Biden Asks Congress for $33 Billion for New Ukraine Aid

$20.4 billion will go towards military aid

On Thursday, President Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion for military, economic, and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine as the US is preparing to back Kyiv in its war against Moscow for the long term.

According to the White House, the massive request includes $20.4 billion in military aid, $8.5 billion in economic aid, and $3 billion in humanitarian assistance. The funds are meant to last through the 2022 fiscal year, which ends on September 30.

The military aid will mostly be for Ukraine, but some will go towards arming the US’s Eastern European allies. The White House said the aid will keep “additional artillery, armored vehicles, anti-armor and anti-air capabilities flowing into Ukraine uninterrupted.”

In March, Biden signed a spending bill into law that included $13.6 billion in the military and economic aid for Ukraine, but that amount has almost been exhausted. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the US has sent about $3.7 billion worth of weapons into the war zone.

The massive $33 billion request signals that the US doesn’t expect the war to end anytime soon. Biden said that the new aid package “begins the transition to longer-term security assistance.”

On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin led a 40-nation conference in Germany on arming Ukraine, where the US and its allies pledged to increase aid. Austin pledged that the US would keep moving “heaven and earth” to get weapons into Ukraine. Austin also said this week that one of the US goals in Ukraine is to see a “weakened” Russia.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.