On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it would be sending another round of support worth $550 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said the Department of Defense (DOD) would send more “security assistance” to Ukraine, including ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System alongside ammunition for 155 mm artillery, The Hill reported.
“In total, the United States has committed approximately $8.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration,” the DOD said in a statement Monday. “Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $10 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.”
Monday’s announcement comes just nine days after the DOD announced it would direct another $270 million worth of aid to Ukraine. In mid-June, the U.S. government and the World Bank announced they would send a combined $1.7 billion in assistance to the Ukrainian government to support health care workers in the war-torn nation.
On July 12, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that the funds were being provided to help stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal war of aggression.”
USAID has now sent approximately $4 billion in financial support to Ukraine.
USAID administrator Samantha Power told The AP that while Putin’s “assault on Ukraine’s public services continues, the United States is rushing in with financial support to help the government keep the lights on, provide essential services to innocent citizens and pay the health care workers who are providing lifesaving support on the frontlines.”
For his part, President Joe Biden has maintained that the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine through various measures indefinitely to defeat Russia.
“We are going to support Ukraine as long as it takes,” Biden told reporters when asked about the future of the United States’ commitment in late June.
“They’ve had to renege on their national debt for the first time since the beginning, in almost well over a hundred years. They’ve lost 15 years of the gains they’ve made in terms of their economy,” Biden said of Russia. “They’re going to have trouble maintaining oil production because they don’t have the technology to do it. They need American technology. They’re also in a similar situation in terms of their weapons systems and some of their military systems. So they’re paying a very, very heavy price for this.”
“I don’t know how it’s going to end but it will not end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine,” Biden added.
The president has also said Americans should expect to pay high gas prices until Russia is defeated.
In June, a reporter commented on the high gas prices in the U.S. and asked Biden, “How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?”
Biden responded again by saying that Americans should expect to pay higher prices at the pump until Putin is stopped.
“As long as it takes,” Biden responded, “so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world. Here we are. Why do we have NATO? I told Putin that, in fact, if he were to move, we would move to strengthen NATO. We would move to strengthen NATO across the board.”