The administration of President Joe Biden has published a budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year, which provides for $482 million in aid to Ukraine.
This was reported in the US State Department.
Of this amount, $250 million will be directed "to economic aid and support for reforms in Ukraine."
Another $95 million will go to the US State Departmentʼs Foreign Military Operations Financing (FMF) program, $71 million to health care programs, and $66 million to "other types of security assistance," including civilian protection, demining, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The remaining $1.5 billion will be directed to combating the malicious influence of Russia and China in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia, the US State Department said.
In particular, it is about "strengthening the stability of US allies and partners, promoting democratic reforms, countering Russian disinformation, improving citizensʼ access to unbiased media, strengthening energy and cyber security, as well as stabilizing economies affected by the war in Ukraine."
As the State Department emphasizes, "the funds to support Ukraine contained in the budget request of US President Joe Biden complement the allocation for national security, where more than $61 billion is provided for military, financial and other assistance to Kyiv."
Aid from the USA
US military aid to Ukraine was exhausted at the end of 2023. Last year in October, Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for the allocation of $106 billion, of which more than $61 billion is intended for Ukraine, mostly for the purchase of weapons from the United States. The rest of the funds from the package were intended for Israel, aid to the Asia-Pacific region, humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip, etc.
However, the request was not approved due to political disputes. For several months, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating a compromise bipartisan bill. In particular, the former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, called on the Republicans to sabotage the agreement. He believes that the US needs a separate bill on borders and immigration and it should not be tied to foreign aid in any way. Biden criticized Trump, saying that he threatened Republicans and tried to intimidate them.
After the failure of several versions of the agreement, on February 13, 2024, the US Senate supported a package bill that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but without an agreement on migration reform and border security. It must be approved by the House of Representatives, which went on vacation until February 28 without considering the document.