Biden signs law on $40B assistance for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a law on additional appropriations to Ukraine in 2022 which allows disbursing more than $40 billion from the country's budget to respond to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

"On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the President signed into law H.R. 7691, the 'Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022,' which provides supplemental emergency appropriations for fiscal year 2022 to Federal agencies to respond to the situation in, and for assistance to, Ukraine," the White House informs.

The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on May 10 by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers (368 vs. 67 Congress members). After more than a week of deliberations in the upper house of the US Congress, on Thursday, May 19, the act was passed with 86 votes for and 11 against.

The allocation of $40.1 billion is stipulated for the measures in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The funds will be allocated through the US Department of Justice, the Pentagon, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of State, USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Treasury.

The bill provides, among other things, the allocation of funds for weapons and equipment, assistance to Ukrainian refugees, regulatory and technical support for nuclear energy, emergency food support, economic assistance to Ukraine. In addition, funding is allocated for the investigation into and documentation of war crimes, as well as the detection and seizure of property of persons involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As reported, U.S. President Joe Biden submitted a proposal to the Congress on April 28 to allocate $33 billion in support of Ukraine. However, in the process of considering the document, lawmakers suggested adding several additional billion dollars.