The request for funding is expected to support Ukraine during this fiscal year, or about five months, and includes $ 20.4 billion in military assistance. Biden described the huge demand as crucial to global stability. He called on Congress to approve the funding “as soon as possible”. He reiterated that he would not send US troops to Ukraine and said the United States was “not attacking Russia” but “helping Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression”, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Russia is the attacker, without if, and or but in this. “Russia is the aggressor and the people must and will hold Russia accountable.” Biden complied with some of the provisions of the $ 33 billion request, such as:
$ 20.4 billion was requested for military assistance and security assistance $ 8.5 billion in financial assistance to the government and the Ukrainian people $ 3 billion will be allocated for additional humanitarian aid and food security funding, as well as targeted funding to address financial turmoil
He also provided detailed information on the new legislation proposed to hold Russian oligarchs accountable. While members agreed that more money is needed for Ukraine, it is not yet clear how quickly the additional Congress will move, nor is it clear how quickly this proposal for the oligarchs could move. One possible way would be to link the two pieces of legislation, but Republicans and Democratic leaders are in the early stages of talks on how to pass the wider funding to Ukraine. The president also reacted to news earlier this week that Russia had cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after both countries refused to pay in rubles, causing more uncertainty in the already volatile global oil markets shaken by the turmoil. “Let me be clear, we will not allow Russia to intimidate or blackmail its exit from these sanctions. We will not allow them to use their oil and gas to avoid consequences. “We are working with other nations such as Korea, Japan, Qatar and others to support our efforts to help European allies threatened by Russia with gas blackmail and their energy needs in other ways.” Read more about the proposal here.
