There’s no question that the US is committed to fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian during the brutal Russo-Ukrainian conflict. But at what cost?
Well, on April 28, 2022, President Joe Biden called on Congress to spend $33 billion in “humanitarian” and military aid for Ukraine through September of this year.
According to a report by CNBC, the huge aid package to Ukraine comes with a proposal to change several well-established criminal laws to facilitate the US sale of seized assets of Russian “oligarchs” who have been sanctioned.
This $33 billion aid package features a request for $20.4 billion in additional military and security aid for Ukraine, on top of money to fund US attempts to strengthen European security by working with NATO allies.
“It’s not cheap. But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen,” Biden declared on April 28.
“We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities and aggression in Ukraine every day,” Biden added.
According to the Biden regime, this aid has the aim of providing Ukraine and the US’s strategic partners in Europe with further armored vehicles, artillery, and anti-armor and anti-air capabilities, enhanced cyber capabilities, advanced air defense systems, and better capabilities to clear land mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
One part of the $33 billion aid package is an allotment of $8.5 billion to prop up the Ukrainian economy.
This money will allegedly help fund the Ukrainian government, support energy, food, and healthcare services for Ukrainians, and combat alleged Russian “disinformation” and propaganda.
According to CNBC, this “money is likely to come in the form of direct financial assistance, a relatively rare form of international aid.”
The CNBC report expanded on the nature of this aid:
Most foreign assistance is things that have already been purchased, such as weapons and food. It can also come in the form of expertise, aid workers, or loans. Rarely is direct economic support provided. This makes it the closest thing to cash from one government to another.
An additional $3 billion will be allocated towards traditional humanitarian aid such as wheat and other commodities to people living outside of Ukraine who have been negatively impacted by the sharp increase in the price of food caused by the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. This conflict has witnessed major disruptions in supply chains and the shipment of grains. There’s widespread speculation that such disruptions will lead to food shortages and massive hikes in food prices in the Global South.
While the US is engaged in a de facto proxy war against Russia, with the US trying to arm Ukraine to the hilt in an effort to create a war of attrition against Russia, the outcome of this war is pretty much a fait accompli. Russia will likely win by virtue of having superior military forces and escalatory dominance over Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the US is still not in the clear against Russia. Continued dumping of military aid to Ukraine will turn it and its NATO allies as de facto co-belligerents in this conflict. Russia could be compelled to take action against any weapons shipments and potentially launch strikes against NATO members, thus making the invocation of Article V a bone-chilling reality. This means a NATO vs. Russia war aka a nuclear war could be going down.
If there is a time to dial down tensions, it’s now. Hopefully, the Thomas Massie wing of the Republican Party grows stronger and brings Congress back to its senses. Because, let’s face it, no one wins in a nuclear war.
