Since the start of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine last year the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $100 billion in aid, per reports.
According to the U.S. State Department, the nation has provided Ukraine with $44.4 billion in security assistance. This week, Fox News Digital reported that this amount, paired with other spending in Ukraine, has surpassed the $100 billion mark. It cited a letter the White House’s Office of Management and Budget sent to Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
“We’ve got to stop sinking money into the Ukrainian money pit,” Vance said in a Tuesday X post.
However, the Office of Management and Budget had a different take on spending in Ukraine.
“With bipartisan Congressional support, the United States has provided security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine as it continues to fight to defend its sovereignty following Russia’s brutal invasion,” said the letter, dated Sept. 11. “This support has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield, as well as the ability of its people to endure under harsh conditions. As President Biden has made clear, the United States will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom and independence.”
Indeed, the federal government has made its stance on supporting Ukraine clear this week. In Thursday press releases, the Secretary of State announced the appointment of Penny Pritzker as the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, as well as new sanctions in response to Russia’s “illegal war in Ukraine.”
The previous day, the G7 Foreign Ministers of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the European Union, made a statement “unequivocally” condemning sham elections held by Russia on Ukrainian sovereign territories in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Crimea. According to CNN, Ukraine had a victory in the war this week when its forces destroyed a Russian air defense system in Crimea.
However, international concerns about Russia heightened also this week when Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin met with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) leader Kim Jong Un.
“National Security Advisor Sullivan held a trilateral call with National Security Secretariat Secretary General Akiba Takeo of Japan and National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong of the Republic of Korea,” regarding the meeting, the White House said Thursday. “The three NSAs reaffirmed the importance of trilateral coordination consistent with their commitment to consult. They noted that any arms exports from the DPRK to Russia would directly violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions, including resolutions that Russia itself voted to adopt. They reiterated their cooperation toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
Last week, the State Department described Ukraine as a “a key regional strategic partner,” that “has undertaken significant efforts to modernize its military and increase its interoperability with NATO,” though it is not an official member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.