WASHINGTON – The White House asked the United States Congress for $6,400 million dollars to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, of which $3,500 would go to the Department of Defense, according to various media reports this Friday.
Meanwhile, some $2,900 million dollars of this package would be dedicated to security assistance, humanitarian aid, economic stabilization measures and support for countries neighboring Ukraine, money that would be channeled through the State Department and the Agency for International Development (USAID, in English). ).
According to The Wall Street Journal, the request was passed on to lawmakers during a meeting this Friday and is expected to be included in the budget bill currently being negotiated.
The newspaper points out that the request could still be expanded or changed depending on how the situation on the ground evolves and other media such as Axios point out that it is expected for the disbursement to have bipartisan support.
This Friday, President Joe Biden already used his authority to approve military aid to Ukraine worth up to $350 million dollars, as well as another item of $250 million for more general assistance.
Biden instructed the Department of State to release that amount in military aid to Ukraine.
In a memorandum to the agency’s secretary, Antony Blinken, the president indicated that the funds would be allocated through the Assistance Law Foreigner.
The announcement came hours after the US president had a telephone conversation of minutes with his Ukrainian counterpart this Friday , Volodymyr Zelensky, to address issues of military aid and sanctions.
It may interest you:
Ukraine turns to the International Monetary Fund to ask for emergency financial aid