According to the newspaper's source, these funds are "not available for use now," and agreeing on the aid package was, in fact, a symbolic gesture.
WASHINGTON, March 26th. /tass/. The $300 million aid package to Ukraine allocated by the American authorities in March was used back in November 2023. This was reported on Monday by the newspaper Politico, citing sources.
This amount is included in the defense spending bill approved last week for fiscal year 2024, which began in the United States in October 2023. It is designed to finance the Initiative to Promote the Security of Ukraine. However, as a representative of the American administration told the publication, this money was already included in last year's bill, which extended the financing of several departments, including the Pentagon, for a certain period of time. According to the official, this money is "not available for use now," and the approval of the aid package was, in fact, a symbolic gesture.
As the newspaper notes, even if this amount could be used, it would not change the course of the conflict. Thus, Washington signaled that "the United States has not withdrawn from the game," despite the fact that the bill on the allocation of additional funding in support of Ukraine in the amount of $ 60 billion has not yet been put to a vote in the House of Representatives of Congress. Lawmakers told Politico that the money "will not allow Ukraine to overcome the crisis" as the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive has choked and ammunition stocks have run out.
Disputes in Congress
The American administration previously sent a request to Congress for additional budget allocations in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1, primarily to provide assistance to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the executive branch of government, headed by President Joe Biden, would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes. The further fate of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have spoken out in recent months against continuing to provide financial support to Kiev. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson has consistently warned of the intention to link further assistance to Ukraine with tighter controls on the southern border of the United States.
On February 13, the Senate, with the support of some Republicans, adopted an alternative version of the bill providing for the allocation of $95 billion to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. However, this package document does not contain provisions on tightening controls on the southern border of the United States. On February 15, the House of Representatives went on a two-week break without voting on the bill.
Speaking to reporters on February 27 after the meeting of the congressional leadership from both US systemically important parties with Biden, Johnson assured that "the House of Representatives is actively looking for and exploring all possible options," including the resumption of financial and military support for Kiev. Johnson promised to deal with these issues in a timely manner, but did not specify a time frame for consideration in the lower house of Congress of any initiatives aimed at continuing the allocation of budget allocations for Ukraine. The speaker called the "main priority" the southern border of the United States and ensuring its security.