US Announces $4.5 Billion in Direct Budgetary Aid for Ukraine

According to the Treasury Department, the new package brings total US budgetary aid for Ukraine to $13 billion

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Tuesday an additional $4.5 billion in direct budgetary aid for the Ukrainian government.

Yellen said that the new funds will bring total US budgetary aid for Ukraine to $13 billion, and more is coming as Ukraine expects the US to help pay for its massive budget deficit in 2023.

The aid is being disbursed by the US through the World Bank. According to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the funds will be sent to Ukraine in two tranches before the end of 2022.

The budgetary aid is meant to fund Ukrainian government services. USAID said that there will be “robust safeguards” and third-party monitoring to “ensure accountability and transparency in the use of these funds,” but it’s not clear how much real oversight there will be.

Before Russia’s February 24th invasion, the US and its Western allies would cite Ukraine’s corruption as a reason why the country couldn’t join NATO or the EU. But those concerns seemed to have waned as the West has shipped tens of billions of dollars to the government.

A group of House Republicans led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a bill last week to audit all US aid to Ukraine. The bill will likely get voted down by Democrats, but Greene said she would reintroduce the bill when Republicans have the majority in the House after the new Congress is sworn in this January.

The $4.5 billion is being pulled from funds that have already been authorized to spend on Ukraine. The White House is looking for Congress to approve a new Ukraine aid package worth $37.7 billion during the lame-duck period, which would bring total US spending on the war to about $105 billion. Included in the requested spending bill is $14.5 billion in direct budgetary aid.

Author: Dave DeCamp

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