Lawmakers in Washington gave final approval Friday to legislation that includes nearly $50 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, only two days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an emotional in-person appeal to Congress for more and better weapons.
The new aid package comes amid growing concerns about the depth of political support in America for underwriting the war. Some Republicans have questioned the massive spending, while some progressive Democrats have called for peace talks.
Zelenskyy was back in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday after a whirlwind diplomatic trip to Washington, his first outside Ukraine since the war began, aimed at shoring up U.S. support for the war effort.
The hero’s welcome he received from Congress has boosted morale in Ukraine, where Russian missile strikes on the energy grid have plunged millions of people into darkness and cold. Zelenskyy on Friday declared that Ukraine was “working toward victory.”
The appropriation is part of a $1.7 trillion spending bill, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign in the coming days. In total, U.S. allocations to support Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion will exceed $100 billion this year, designated in four emergency spending packages.
Here is a closer look at what is in the latest legislation.
— More than $27 billion of military spending, including nearly $20 billion to arm and equip Ukrainian forces and NATO allies, and to replenish Defense Department stockpiles from which weapons are being sent to Kyiv.
— An additional $6.2 billion to support a surge of U.S. forces and operations in Europe that Biden ordered after the Russian invasion, including thousands of U.S. troops deployed to Poland and Romania.
— $687 million to accelerate munitions production at Army plants, and $300 million to support efforts by the Ukrainian police and border guards to protect civilians and rescue victims of attacks against infrastructure and cities.
— More than $17 billion aimed at stabilizing the country’s economy and spurring recovery, as well as bolstering humanitarian support, with $4 billion to assist Ukrainian refugees and $300 million to address the food supply crisis.
— About $300 million for nuclear energy technology to promote U.S. energy independence and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources.
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