US President Joe Biden announced on 30 December that the United States will provide Ukraine with almost US$2.5 billion in security assistance.
President Biden said that he is “proud to announce nearly US$2.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, as the Ukrainian people continue to defend their independence and freedom from Russian aggression.”
The announcement reportedly includes an additional US$1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a US$1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package and it will provide Ukraine “with both an immediate influx of capabilities that it continues to use to great effect on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems.”
According to Biden, the Department of Defense has now allocated all remaining USAI funds appropriated by Congress in the supplemental that he signed in April, and his Administration is fully utilizing the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on the same day issued a statement on the disbursement of US$3.4 billion in direct budget support for Ukraine:
“Our direct budget support to Ukraine arrives at a critical time as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure. Economic assistance from the United States and our allies is crucial for Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and achieve a just peace by maintaining the critical government services that underpin its brave fight”, Ms. Janet L. Yellen said.
In coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State, this US$3.4 billion in assistance reportedly marks the final disbursement of funds appropriated under the bipartisan Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024.
“This disbursal follows the United States’ execution of our portion of the $50 billion G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loan initiative for Ukraine, paid for by the windfall proceeds earned from Russia’s own immobilized assets. Taken together, we are sending a clear message to Russia that it will increasingly bear the costs of its illegal war – not American and coalition taxpayers,” the Secretary of the Treasury said, noting that Ukraine’s success is in America’s core national interest and ‘stopping Russia’s illegal invasion will help uphold a global democratic, rules-based, order that advances American security and economic interests.”
