President Joe Biden is pleading with Congress to provide Ukraine with more than $37 billion in emergency aid, a large sum of money that may support the country as Russian soldiers incur casualties in their nine-month onslaught on the battlefield.
The government is also asking for $9.25 billion in COVID-19 funds in its funding request as Congress starts its post-election session to help fight the virus nationally and prepare for a potential winter surge.
Mid-December marks the expiration of government funding; the Ukraine and COVID assistance would be included in the package to keep the government running through the end of September 2023.
The GOP is likely to take control of the House after the November elections, which is why the request for such a substantial sum of money for Ukraine is being made now.
Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the House Republicans and the likely next speaker, has warned that if Republicans win control of the House, they won’t support issuing a “blank check” for Ukraine.
More than three-fourths of the $40 billion allocated by Congress earlier this year for Ukraine, according to Shalanda Young, head of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The total funding requested by the Biden administration is $37.7 billion.
Young wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying, “We cannot let this support run dry. With strong, bipartisan support in Congress, we have provided significant assistance that has been crucial to Ukraine’s progress on the battlefield.
The proposed aid to Ukraine consists of $626 million for nuclear security support to Ukraine and $21.7 billion for military, intelligence, and other defense support, $14.5 billion in humanitarian aid, $900 million for health care and support services for Ukrainians living in the United States, and $6 billion for modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Tens of thousands of missiles and rockets for air defense and anti-armor systems, more than 84 million rounds of ammunition, drones, tanks, trucks, radars, body armor, and other equipment have already been provided as part of U.S. help to Ukraine.
The U.S. has been careful not to deliver systems that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeply into Russia or target Moscow despite the pleading of Ukrainian authorities for more sophisticated, longer-range weaponry.
The U.S. has prioritized air defense systems and a steady supply of ammunition in recent months.
These technologies have played a crucial role in enabling Ukrainian forces to launch a massive counteroffensive that has successfully halted Russian forces’ advances in the south and east and retaken strategic areas.
One of Ukraine’s most significant victories in the nearly nine-month-old Russian invasion was the recapture of Kherson, the only provincial capital taken by the Russians.
Moscow suffered a humiliating defeat on the battlefield, but fighting is still ongoing, and large portions of eastern and southern Ukraine are still under Russian control.
Widespread blackouts are caused by Russian airstrikes that target civilian infrastructure, including power networks.
The strikes seem to be intended to leave citizens in Ukraine in the dark and cold as winter approaches.
In September, Biden requested $13.7 billion in emergency assistance.
He later signed legislation authorizing about $12 billion and maintaining federal funding.
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