US President Biden. Figure: Flip through the White House Facebook (file photo)
It has been more than two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and democracies have assisted Ukraine to defend against Russian atrocities. U.S. President Biden announced in a speech at the White House on the 28th that he proposed a $33 billion (about NT$975 billion) plan, with $20 billion for military spending and other security assistance, allowing Ukraine to obtain an endless supply of weapons and ammunition. Another $8.5 billion will go to economic aid and “assist the Ukrainian government in responding to the immediate crisis”; about $3 billion will go to humanitarian support and to deal with rising global food prices.
Biden stressed that Ukraine is fighting for freedom and that the cost of helping Ukraine resist Russian aggression “is not cheap,” but if Russia succeeds, and the world is in trouble, the price will be even greater. Biden asked Congress for approval to invest an additional $33 billion in war-related issues in Ukraine, of which $20 billion (about NT$602.4 billion) is military assistance to Ukraine. A senior U.S. official said most of the budget was “used for arms and ammunition for the Ukrainian people”.
In addition, Biden’s proposal includes $8.5 billion (about NT$251 billion) in economic aid “to assist the Ukrainian government in responding to the immediate crisis,” and about $3 billion (about NT$88.6 billion) to be used for Humanitarian aid and response to the food price shock caused by the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine. Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat. The proposed budget also includes funding for economic disruptions in the U.S. and elsewhere, ranging from hits to food supplies to critical components used in high-tech manufacturing.
Biden also plans to put further pressure on Russian billionaires to use luxury assets seized from them to compensate war-torn Ukraine. The White House statement mentioned that in Biden’s plan “these confiscated thieves assets” would be used to make up for Ukraine “wounded by Russian aggression.” Since the start of the Ukraine-Russian war on February 24 this year, the United States has provided Ukraine with a total of 3.7 billion U.S. dollars (about NT$109.2 billion) in military and security assistance, and has deployed more than 100,000 troops to NATO member states in Europe.