President Biden has requested from Congress, a sum of $33bn (£27bn) in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine, although he insisted that the US is not “attacking Russia”.
Mr. Biden said it is “critical” for US lawmakers to approve the deal, which he said would help Ukraine defend itself. The proposal includes more than $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid and $3bn in humanitarian aid. On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Mr. Biden said “It’s not cheap. But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen”.
Even though the US has already announced help for Ukraine, the proposals are a significant ramping up of aid. President Biden disclosed US military support to Ukraine has so far amounted to 10 anti-tank weapons for every tank that Russia has deployed to Ukraine. But despite his strong rhetoric, he said the US is not attacking Russia. “We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” says Biden.
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry intimated that Western military support for Ukraine threatened “the security of the continent”.
Addressing Nuclear Confrontations
In Mr. Biden’s speech, he also addressed concerns over a nuclear confrontation.
On Wednesday, April 28, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov warned of a “serious” risk of nuclear war over Ukraine which “can’t be underestimated”. Mr. Biden said, “No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons“. Additionally, Mr. Biden took aim at what he termed Russian “gas blackmail” following Russia’s gas cut to Poland and Bulgaria.
“We will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of these sanctions. We will not allow them to use their oil and gas to avoid consequences for their aggression.”
US President, Joe Biden
A Gift Package in Difficult Times
The announcement of the new Ukraine package came at a difficult time for the US economy.
Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday, April 28, 2022, showed that the US economy shrank in the first quarter of 2022, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declining 1.4% between January and March 2022. Mr. Biden’s first funding request after the war began, which was approved by Congress last month, was less than $14bn.
Last week, President Biden authorised a second round of military aid worth $800m (£642m), as well as $500m (£401m) in direct economic assistance.
So far, the US has moved quickly to help Ukraine since the war began in late February 2022. These include: releasing $3.7bn in total military and security assistance; deploying more than 100,000 troops to NATO member countries in Europe; imposing economic sanctions, asset freezes and travel bans on hundreds of Russian oligarchs and politicians and imposing sanctions on Russian banks and defence entities. Others include blocking key Russian banks from the Swift messaging system; banning Russian oil imports and banning the use of domestic airspace by Russian aircraft.
Other Efforts to Support Ukraine
The White House on Thursday, April 28, 2022, also proposed making it easier for the US to seize and sell Russian oligarchs’ assets, and transfer their proceeds to Ukraine. Western allies, including European Union member states, are working together since March 2022, to track down the assets of Russian elites, from artwork and real estate to helicopters and yachts.
According to the White House, the US has now sanctioned and blocked vessels and aircraft worth over $1bn, while the EU has collectively frozen over $30bn. The announcement by the White House would allow the US to use the funds from confiscated assets “to remediate harms of Russian aggression in Ukraine”.
The White House in a statement noted that the package will “establish new authorities for the forfeiture of property linked to Russian kleptocracy, allow the government to use the proceeds to support Ukraine and further strengthen related law enforcement tools“.
Canada’s government also proposed legislation this week that would allow it to seize and sell off Russian assets. Under pressure to expand its sanctions actions, the ruling Liberals are pushing for “any type of property” including money, digital assets and virtual currency to be subject to seizure.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, convened nearly 40 nations in Germany and announced that they are stepping up their support for Ukraine in order to “move at the speed of war. He told participants that “Ukraine needs our help to win today. And they will still need our help when the war is over”.
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