Roving Periscope: With a fresh $40bn aid to Ukraine, US pushes Russia into marshes
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February 24 is bleeding Moscow whiter at a rate of USD 5 billion per day. In the last 86 days of the war, Russia is down with an overall loss of over USD 430 billion through exports, business, and spent ammunition, as the inconclusive conflict looks heading nowhere.
For Moscow, it is a Catch-22 situation, when President Vladimir Putin is reportedly afflicted with abdominal and/or blood cancer and uncertainties about Russia’s own future are gaining currency. Russia’s threats to widen the war beyond Ukraine, including nuclear war, have gone almost unheeded. In fact, NATO is considering granting membership to Finland and Sweden in the US-led anti-Russia alliance.
With Washington’s aid of USD 14 billion so far, Ukraine is, despite the wanton destruction of most of the country, still holding out against an all-out Russian offensive and refusing to surrender.
President Joe Biden added to this uncertainty on Russia’s future on Saturday. Intending to prolong the highly expensive war and bleeding Russia faster, he signed legislation to support Ukraine with another USD 40 billion in US help as the Russian invasion approaches its fourth month.
He signed the measure under unusual circumstances. Because President Biden is currently in the middle of a trip to Asia, a US official brought a copy of the bill on a commercial flight so the President could sign it, according to a White House official.
The logistics reflect a sense of urgency around continuing US support for Ukraine, but also the overlapping global challenges facing Biden. Even as he tries to reorient American foreign policy to confront China, he is continuing to direct resources to the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.
The new legislation will provide half of the aid (USD 20 billion) to Ukraine in military help, ensuring a steady stream of advanced weapons to blunt Russia’s advances, the media reported.
The new law, which the US Congress passed with bipartisan support, deepens Washington’s commitment to Ukraine at a time of uncertainty about the war’s future. Ukraine has successfully defended its national capital, Kyiv, and Russia has refocused its offensive on the country’s east, amid American warning of the potential for a prolonged conflict.
The US funding would support Ukraine through September to hold out against Russia.
The legislation also envisages a USD 8 billion economic support to Ukraine, USD 5 billion to address global food shortages that could result from the collapse of Ukrainian agriculture, and over USD 1 billion to help refugees.
