Ukraine has been pleading with the United States for billions of dollars ever since the war with Russia began, and Washington has been happy to give it to them in droves as a way to hurt Putin. But it turns out that our money has been making Ukraine richer, instead of merely helping it fight a war.
It’s strange that this story comes from CBS. As part of “60 Minutes,” reporters checked out how the money we contributed was being spent in Ukraine. They did find war tools and weapons, but they didn’t stay at the front.
Some of the money is going to war-related projects like teaching rescue dogs and finding unexploded bombs in Ukraine’s creeks and rivers in order to protect people. Other parts of the money is helping Ukraine’s economy in different ways.
Yes, it turns out that our money also buys seeds and manure for farmers:
“American taxpayers pay for a lot more than just weapons. We found out that the U.S. government was buying fertilizer and seeds for Ukrainian farms and paying all 57,000 of Ukraine’s emergency responders.”
We are also giving money to businesses in Ukraine.
“The attack by Russia cut Ukraine’s income by about a third. We were shocked to learn that the U.S. government has to help small businesses stay open.”
Such as Tatiana Abramova’s knitting business.
60 Minutes says that USAID has assisted Abramova’s knitting business to get customers in other countries. Why do we have to pay for her business? Abramova says that the war’s main cause is the Ukrainian economy.
The American public seems to be the real hero of this war, based on how much money we’ve sent:
“The United States has sent almost $25 billion in non-military aid to Ukraine’s economy ever since the invasion started. You are able to see it at the busy farmer’s market on John McCain Street in the center of Kyiv.”
Additionally, we are covering the wages of Ukrainian first responders. Each and every one of the 57,000.
Millions of dollars from American taxpayers are going to things that go beyond the war effort. What really irritates Americans is that all of this assistance is going to non-military Ukrainians although Americans are struggling in many other ways. This is especially true in places like Maui, where a fire killed about 1,000 people and the Biden administration only gave the people who lived there $700 to help with their losses.
The Biden administration wanted to give $12 billion more in aid to Maui, but they tied it to $24.1 billion more in funding to Ukraine, which is why Republicans were able to block it:
“But the effort to get a quick appropriation failed when the Biden administration asked for $12 billion in emergency funds to keep disaster relief programs going and also asked for $24.1 billion in military expenditures for Ukraine at the same time.”
“That means that giving Hawaii the money it needs to help Maui get better has been linked to giving money to support Ukraine’s military, which is becoming a less popular topic among some Republicans. When the House passed its fiscal 2024 defense funding bill early this summer, a group of about a dozen Republicans tried to stop the United States from giving Ukraine any more help.”
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