“Russia is the aggressor.”
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
Washington The US government intends to continue to allocate huge sums of money to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. President Joe Biden announced in Washington on Thursday that he would ask Congress to approve an additional $33 billion (€31.4 billion). 20 billion of that should be used for military aid, about 8.5 billion for economic aid.
“We have to do this,” Biden said during an appearance at the White House. The help is not cheap. But leaving Russia’s aggression unanswered would be even more expensive, he warned. “Either we support the Ukrainian people in defending their country, or we stand by while Russia continues its atrocities and aggression in Ukraine.”
The US government had previously launched several large packages of support for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war at the end of February, the United States has promised or delivered weapons and ammunition worth more than 3.7 billion US dollars (around 3.5 billion euros) to the former Soviet republic.
The US Congress passed a budget in March that earmarked $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid by the end of September. The money will also be used to increase US troops in Europe and to support neighboring countries that have taken in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.
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However, the aid already approved is not enough, warned Biden and called on Congress to release the additional funds as quickly as possible. It is important to continue uninterrupted deliveries of arms, ammunition and other aid in the critical weeks ahead. The requested additional funds are invested until the end of September, i.e. until the end of the financial year.
“We will not attack Russia”
Biden also proposed a series of legislative changes to Congress to crack down on Russian oligarchs. The aim is, for example, to be able to make better use of confiscated money from oligarchs to repair damage in Ukraine caused by Russia in the war.
He also dismissed allegations from Moscow that NATO was waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Biden lamented “disturbing rhetoric from the Kremlin” and emphasized: “We are not attacking Russia.” His government is helping Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression. “Russia is the aggressor.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had accused NATO of waging a proxy war in view of the arms deliveries to Kyiv. Lavrov also spoke of the real danger of a third world war. With a view to such threatening words, Biden emphasized: “We are prepared for everything they do.” He called Russian statements about the threat of world war and the possible use of nuclear weapons “irresponsible”.
More: All events of the Ukraine war in the live blog