The US wants to transfer as much aid as possible to Ukraine by January 2025. Unspent funds allocated to aid Ukraine may be blocked by Donald Trump if he is re-elected US president.
CNN writes about this with reference to sources among American officials.
In 2023, representatives of the administration and Congress began discussing how to channel as much aid as possible to Ukraine by January 2025.
"Itʼs important not only that the money be appropriated, but that it be paid out before the election, because any unspent funds in fiscal year 2024 could potentially be blocked by Trump," an unnamed US official told the publication.
Last fall, some of the most radical members of Congress estimated in private conversations that Ukraine would need up to $100 billion to get through 2024. In the end, the White House settled on a request of $61 billion for 2024, which is about $7 billion more than the request for military aid to Ukraine for 2023. An aide to the congressman familiar with the progress of the negotiations said that the longer the negotiations on the approval of this aid package for Ukraine drag on, the less likely it is to be approved.
- Back in September 2023, the White House asked Congress to approve a $106 billion funding package, of which more than $61 billion is allocated to Ukraine, and the rest to help Israel, Taiwan, and protect the border with Mexico. The issue of border protection has become a key point of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It is this that slows down the approval of the request of the White House.
- On December 7, 2023, the US Senate blocked the bill on money, in particular for Ukraine. Republicans voted against. Joe Biden called the prospect of the US refusing to help Ukraine an "absolute mistake" and "madness". After that, the House of Representatives, whose decisions depend on the package, went on vacation until at least the second half of January.