(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States will give Ukraine $500 million to fund government programs, salaries, and pensions, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he needs $7 billion every month, Reuters reported.
President Joe Biden announced that he will send an additional $800 million in lethal military aid, bringing the total grant to $1.3 million, on the same day that Zelenskyy demanded $7 billion.
Biden said the money will go “directly to the front lines of freedom,” Citizen Free Press reported.
He did not address the fact that America’s lethal military aid in many interpretations constitutes an act of war against Russia, though Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the West could face consequences for intervention.
Pres. Biden’s new $800 million military aid package to Ukraine includes:
– Heavy artillery weapons
– Dozens of howitzers
– 144,000 rounds of ammunition
– More tactical drones pic.twitter.com/8WqFDZkWhg— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2022
In an address to the World Bank forum, Zelenskyy called on global financial institutions to prevent Russia from using their banking services.
He said that Ukraine cannot fund itself because Russia has blockaded the Black Sea ports and prevented the nation from exporting goods. The blockade, combined with the war’s economic devastation, has left Ukraine without a cash flow.
Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the weapons, saying it is “just what we were waiting for.”
After surviving on short-term financial and military aid, he said Ukraine “will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild.”
Biden said he must continue to fund the war because Ukraine can hold the line if America keeps the money flowing.
“Putin is banking on us losing interest,” he said. Putin believes that “Western unity will crack and once again we’re going to prove him wrong.”
Biden’s latest financial gift brings America’s total monetary commitment to $3.9 billion.
