Dollars, Euros, pounds…..and the cash keeps flowing into Ukraine daily…..I have bitched about the US dollars that just keeps Ukraine in the battle…..but the US is NOT alone…..
European Union nations on Tuesday approved fresh aid for Ukraine as the country faces growing economic damage from Russia’s invasion.
Finance ministers from the 27-nation EU gave the go-ahead on Tuesday to 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in loans to the Ukrainian government.
The sum brings to 2.2 billion euros the total amount of EU macro-financial assistance to Kyiv this year. An initial 1.2 billion-euro EU loan package got the green light from the bloc’s finance chiefs days before Russia’s full-scale Feb. 24 attack.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, in mid-May proposed extra assistance of up to 9 billion euros to Ukraine. The planned 1 billion-euro payout is part of this initiative, which comes as Russia makes advances in eastern Ukraine and casualties mount on both sides.
“This will give Ukraine the necessary funds to cover urgent needs and ensure the operation of critical infrastructure,” said Zbynek Stanjura, finance minister of the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, in a statement.
I know I bitch a lot about the wasting of taxpayer cash on a cause that has no consequences for the US….so why stop now?
Another weapons package to be sent to Ukraine…..
The $400 million was pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that President Biden signed back in May. It was authorized using presidential drawdown authority, which allows the president to send Ukraine weapons directly from the US military’s stockpile with no congressional oversight.
The $40 billion aid bill is meant to last through September 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year for the US federal government. Combined with the $13.6 billion bill that was already spent, the US will spend about $54 billion in total on the war in Ukraine in the 2022 fiscal year unless more funds are authorized.
It’s likely that billions more in spending for Ukraine will be approved for the 2023 fiscal year as the US says it will support Ukraine for a long time. Last week, at the NATO summit in Madrid, Biden said he was ready to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia.
(antiwar.com)
Apparently the billions we have already sent to Ukraine is not enough…..an additional package is being put together…..
The US on Tuesday announced it was sending $1.7 billion in new aid to fund the Ukrainian government that is meant to pay Ukrainian healthcare workers and support other “essential services.”
The funds are coming from the US Treasury Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and are being pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill President Biden signed into law back in May.
Also on Tuesday, the EU approved a new Ukraine aid package for 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in loans. The 1 billion is the first payment that’s part of an EU plan to provide Ukraine with 9 billion euros in financial assistance.
While Western nations have been shipping billions of dollars worth of weapons into Ukraine, the leadership in Kyiv keeps asking for more, including more economic assistance. Last month, the head of the Ukrainian parliament’s financial committee said the government needs $5 billion in external aid, or it will have to make drastic budget cuts.
The $40 billion aid package Biden signed in May includes $8.5 billion for economic assistance. More spending for Ukraine could be approved soon as the $40 billion is meant to last through September 30, and President Biden has said he’s willing to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”
Before Russia’s invasion, Western officials often cited corruption in Ukraine’s government as a reason why Kyiv couldn’t join NATO or the EU. But those concerns have fallen by the wayside as billions in aid are flowing into Ukraine with virtually no oversight.
(atiwar.com)
The key statement in that report is….” billions in aid are flowing into Ukraine with virtually no oversight.”
In other words we have NO idea where the cash is going…..mostly likely a percentage is finding its way into a few bank accounts…..
To illustrate this problem…..
The IG report reads: “As the DoD is building processes and procedures to ensure the transparency of the reporting for the Ukraine supplemental funds, we identified multiple areas of concern that, if not adequately addressed, could reduce the traceability of Ukraine supplemental funds and the transparency in the DoD’s reporting.”
Pentagon Watchdog Says Ukraine Aid Oversight Hindered By Bad Record-Keeping
I am still working on why I am one of the few that actually gives a crap how my money is spent.
We piss and moan about the cash spent on a social program but could care less when it is used for war and destruction…..where is the sanity there?
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“lego ergo scribo”