White House urges Congress to approve $11.8 bln in budget aid to Ukraine

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Director of the US Agency for International Development Samantha Power called on Congress to approve allocating $11.8 billion in budget support to Ukraine.

This is stated in the letter of White House officials.

Key officials of the Joe Biden administration explain that direct budget support to Ukraine is inextricably linked to its successes on the battlefield, "ensuring the functioning of the government and the economy and allowing Ukraine to focus its resources on defense."

The letter indicates that the amount of this support requested by the White House is less than the $14.4 billion allocated in 2023 due to "US investments in the success of Ukraine and work to attract assistance from other countries."

"Ukraine has taken painful measures to eliminate non-essential expenses, and military expenses make up more than 100% of its tax revenues, which makes it completely dependent on external support for the further functioning of the government and economy," the officials point out.

They added that $11.8 billion is the minimum amount needed to cover Ukraine's basic needs, and while Canada and EU countries provide more support as a percentage of GDP, "these and other sources are not enough" to cover Ukraine's budget deficit.

Separately, White House officials emphasize accountability and control over how funds are spent for budgetary support of Ukraine, as well as the fact that they push Kyiv to reforms aimed at fighting corruption.