Former NATO Commander calls on U.S. to provide assistance to Ukraine
Former NATO Commander calls on U.S. to provide assistance to Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis appealed to the U.S. Congress to provide more assistance to Ukraine, reports The Hill.
Stavridis noted that half of the Russian army has been destroyed, without any U.S. soldiers being killed “or even placed at risk,” and Ukraine has done so with “the equivalent of 5 percent” of the annual U.S. defense budget.
"We’ve got to provide the military support to Ukraine. Their cause is just. We can afford to do this, and we should. So I’m worried about the war in Ukraine only if the U.S. and our European allies fail to live up to the commitment we’ve made to support Ukraine," he stated.
U.S. assistance to Ukraine
On October 1, the U.S. Congress passed a bill on a temporary budget. It did not include any new funding for assistance to Ukraine, as it was decided to consider this initiative separately. After that, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed that Congress allocate $106 billion.
The majority of these funds ($60 billion) are to be used to help Ukraine. The package also included aid to Israel.
After much debate, the U.S. approved a new temporary budget for the government without aid to Ukraine and Israel. Biden signed a law that helped avoid a shutdown.
It is also known that the U.S. is debating the strengthening of the border with Mexico, which is included in the law. Republicans have demanded that immigration legislation be passed, threatening to withhold funding for Ukraine.
The White House expects Democrats and Republicans to reach an agreement in January 2024.
