After Russia
first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the Obama Administration provided Ukraine
nonlethal security assistance, such as body armor, helmets, vehicles, night and
thermal vision devices, heavy engineering equipment, advanced radios, patrol
boats, rations, tents, counter-mortar radars, uniforms, medical kits, and other
related items. In2017, the Trump Administration announced U.S. readiness to
provide lethal weapons to Ukraine.
In 2022, the
Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have directed nearly $50 billion in
assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military
support. The historic sums are helping a broad set of Ukrainian people and
institutions, including refugees, law enforcement, and independent radio
broadcasters, though most of the aid has been military-related. Dozens of other
countries, including most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
and the European Union, are also providing large aid packages to Ukraine.
Much of the
aid has gone toward providing weapons systems, training, and intelligence that
Ukrainian commanders need to defend against Russia, which has one of the
world’s most powerful militaries. Many Western analysts say the military aid
provided by the United States and other allies has played a pivotal role in
Ukraine’s defense and counteroffensive against Russia. U.S. and allied leaders
consider Russia’s invasion a brutal and illegal war of aggression on NATO’s
frontier that, if successful, would subjugate millions of Ukrainians; encourage
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s revanchist aims; and invite similar
aggression from other rival powers, especially China.
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Bilateral
aid to Ukraine between January 24, 2022, and November 20, 2022:
Humanitarian:
$9.9 billion (21%)
Financial : $15.1
billion (31%)
Security
assistance: $8.9 billion (19%)
Weapons and
equipment: $12.7 billion (27%)
Grants and
loans for weapons and equipment: $1.3 billion (3%)
Still,
Ukraine has requested certain advanced equipment, such as modern battle tanks
and longer-range missile systems, that the United States and other donor
governments have been unwilling to provide, worried that doing so could
escalate the war. NATO allies are particularly wary of being pulled directly
into the hostilities, which would dramatically raise the risk of a nuclear war.
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As of December, the Biden administration had provided or agreed to provide Ukraine with a long list of defense capabilities, including armored vehicles, anti-aircraft missiles, coastal defense ships, and advanced surveillance and radar systems.