Costly war: American aid to Ukraine about to hit $65 billion
The amount of military aid the United States will send to Ukraine is about to hit $65 billion once the new nearly $12 billion package Congress is attempting to negotiate inevitably pushes through.
The $65 billion in taxpayer dollars is nearly as much as the Russian Armed Forces’ 2021 budget of $65.9 billion, according to an estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The amount of taxpayer dollars the U.S. has spent in Ukraine is also nearly as much as the United Kingdom’s full military expenditures of $68.4 billion. It is also nearly $10 billion more than what France, Germany and Saudi Arabia spend on their militaries – $56.6 billion, $56 billion and $55.5 billion, respectively.
Neil Munro, writing for Breitbart, also noted that all the foreign aid the American government has sent to Ukraine is twice as much as what the U.S. Army spends on the development and purchasing of new weaponry.
Munro added that if the government sent that amount of money back to the American people in the form of a tax rebate, all taxpayers would get a paycheck worth about $200.
According to German think tank Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the U.S. spent $43.45 billion in aid to Ukraine as of Aug. 18, consisting of $24.4 billion of military aid, $8.99 billion of humanitarian aid and $10.06 billion of other financial aid. Apparently, the U.S. sent around $10 billion more over the past month.
The next biggest spender, the United Kingdom, doesn’t even spend a sixth of what the U.S. has provided to Ukraine. As of Aug. 18, Britain has given Ukraine $6.35 billion in aid, with nearly two-thirds of that – $3.93 billion – going to military aid and the rest to humanitarian and other financial aid.
Only two other nations have provided Ukraine with over $1 billion in military aid – Poland and Germany, which have provided $1.76 billion and $1.17 billion in military aid commitments, respectively.
Latest Ukraine aid package enjoys broad bipartisan support
The latest nearly $12 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine is a result of a request from President Joe Biden’s administration.
Earlier this month, Biden asked Congress to provide $11.7 billion in new military and economic aid for Ukraine in the stopgap spending bill. Sources who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity pointed out that there is widespread bipartisan support from both houses of Congress to spend more taxpayer dollars on Ukraine.
According to these same sources, the bipartisan aid package will include around $4.5 billion to provide more defensive capabilities and equipment for Ukraine and $2.7 billion to continue America’s ongoing military, intelligence and other defense support.
Notably, the aid package also includes $4.5 billion, which will be spent to provide direct budget support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government through the next quarter. The money will supposedly go to paying salaries for essential employees, supporting Ukrainians displaced by the conflict and covering other critical expenses to help civilians.
This new aid package does not include the authorization request Biden asked Congress to allow him to spend $3.6 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority money to transfer excess weapons from U.S. military stocks to Ukraine.
