The White House has confirmed that the administration of US President Joe Biden has spent more than $100 billion on the war in Ukraine despite repeated warnings from Russia that such moves would only prolong the conflict in the former Soviet republic.
The confirmation was made in a letter from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to more than 30 Republican lawmakers at the Senate demanding a “full crosscutting” report in January on US military assistance provided to Ukraine.
The letter, penned by OMB Director Shalanda Young and obtained by Fox News, offers a detailed account of more than $100 billion worth of military assistance the United States has provided to Ukraine since the start of what it calls “Russia’s brutal invasion” on February 24, 2022.
“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,” Young wrote.
“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.”
Young claimed that Biden “has made clear” that the United States “will not waver in our commitment to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom and independence.”
Young also provided the Republican Senators with a “table that details supplemental funding provided in support of Ukraine in addition to current obligation levels, which OMB shared with Congress” in August.
The table showed that a total of $101,198,000,000 has been obligated or executed by the Office of Management and Budget, also outlining plans to spend an additional $9.8 billion.
Apart from more than $100 billion already spent in Ukraine, the White House asked Congress last month to authorize an additional $24 billion, which includes $13 billion for defense and $11 billion for economic and humanitarian aid.
Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian defense minister who was fired by President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the month, revealed that Western allies had already provided Kiev with military aid worth about US$100 billion since the start of the Russian operation in the war-torn country.
“We have received over US$100 billion in various weapons and equipment, rounds of ammunition, shells, and shots. From the United States alone, we received more than US$50 billion, approaching US$60 billion,” Reznikov said in an interview with Ukrinform news agency.
The defense minister underlined that if the amount is multiplied by Ukraine’s national currency exchange rate, it will be equivalent to trillions of hryvnias.
The development comes as Western officials have criticized Kiev over the past weeks for failing to deliver on its promises of victory on the battlefield despite receiving ten-of-billions of dollars worth of weapons and munitions and just asking for more.
Kiev launched its hugely publicized counteroffensive against Russian troops in June but failed to pass the Russian defense lines and switched instead to causing disruption deep inside Russia by launching drone and missile attacks on the capital city Moscow and elsewhere.
Some Western officials have come to see the support for Ukraine as their loss and a distraction from their own domestic problems.
Russia has on numerous occasions warned that the continued supply of Western weapons and munitions to the Ukrainian military would only prolong the war, add to losses, and exacerbate the sufferings of the Ukrainian nation.
