US disburses $4.6b in budget aid for Ukraine, says Yellen
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen being welcomed to Kyiv by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The US has sent US$3.4 billion (S$4.6 billion) in additional budget aid to Ukraine, giving the war-torn country critical resources amid intensifying Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Dec 30.
Dr Yellen said in a statement that the direct budget assistance, provided in coordination with the US Agency for International Development and the State Department, marked the final disbursement under the 2024 Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.
A US official said the funding brings the total in US budget aid to Ukraine to just over US$30 billion since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Most of those funds are used to keep Ukraine’s government running by paying salaries to teachers and other state employees.
Earlier on Dec 30, US President Joe Biden announced US$2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine, which is separate from the direct budget aid.
Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed US$175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine.
The Biden administration has been racing to shore up support for Ukraine before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan 20, given his public questioning of military aid and vows to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office.
Trump wants Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the nearly three-year-old war. Some of his fellow Republicans, who will control both houses of the US Congress starting in January, have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.
Dr Yellen said continued economic aid for Ukraine was crucial to allow it to maintain government services and continue to defend its sovereignty, warning against moves to cut funding.
“Ukraine’s success is in America’s core national interest,” she said, vowing to continue to pressure Moscow with sanctions and to help position Ukraine to achieve a just peace.
“We must not retreat in this effort,” she added.
She stressed that US budget aid for Ukraine has been and remains conditioned on reforms aimed at strengthening law enforcement, improving the transparency and efficiency of government institutions and bolstering anti-corruption efforts.
The latest funding came on top of the US$20 billion US portion of a US$50 billion Group of Seven loan for Ukraine that Treasury transferred to a World Bank intermediary fund for Ukraine earlier in December. Those funds are backed by profits earned on frozen Russian sovereign assets.
Mr Biden on Dec 25 said he asked the Defence Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, after condemning Russia’s Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system and some of its cities. REUTERS
