“When our allies are stronger, we are stronger”.
With these words, US President Joe Biden signed the package of laws for additional military aid worth 95 billion dollars, which will be largely intended for Ukraine and other US allies.
“This is a good day for America, a good day for Europeans, a good day for the world – and that matters. I signed a national security bill that passed the House and was approved by the Senate yesterday. It will make America and the world safer and America’s leadership in the world will continue,” the president said.
Biden also signed a bill to provide military support to Taiwan and Israel.
In his words, deliveries to Ukraine “start within hours”, and then he confirmed the American commitment to the security of Israel against the background of the ongoing war against Hamas and the growing military tension with Iran.
The Senate late Tuesday finally passed the bill after months of heated debate in both houses of Congress and opposition from members of the Republican Party. Their objections were mostly related to the lack of sufficient security measures and restrictions on illegal migration along the US-Mexico border.
In the end, the House of Representatives approved the measures by a vote of 311 to 112 on Saturday, followed by lawmakers in the Senate by a vote of 79 to 18.
But what does the support package contain and how will this 95 billion be spent?
About two-thirds of the total amount is related to Ukraine. This includes a total of 60.8 billion dollars, which are considered absolutely necessary in Kiev’s fight against Russian aggression.
However, much of this money is not intended for Ukraine – $23.2 billion will be spent on replenishing the US military’s stockpile of weapons and ammunition that have so far been delivered to Kiev.
The total amount for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine will be in the amount of 13.8 billion dollars.
The first tranche will be of 1 billion and includes weapons and ammunition of immediate need at the front right now.
This certainly includes armored vehicles for infantry “Bradley”, ammunition for portable air defense systems “Stinger”, as well as TOW and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
A large number of shells for 105 and 155 mm gun systems will also be supplied. They are especially necessary against the background of the relatively static front and continuous artillery duels between the two warring parties.
One of the reasons for Russia’s limited progress in recent weeks is believed to be precisely the insufficient amount of artillery shells that the Ukrainian army has to conserve and redistribute. As of February 2022, Washington has sent 2 million of these munitions to Ukraine, but the front needs larger volumes.
Future tranches are expected to include more Patriot air defense systems, as well as ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, which can reach Crimea and other targets deep behind the Russian military.
Patriot air defense system
The package for Ukraine also includes 9 billion in economic aid in the form of “forgivable loans”, which can be partially or completely forgiven if certain conditions are met.
Also added $11.9 billion to the so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority, a special financial tool that allows the president in times of crisis or emergency to transfer weapons from the military’s stockpile to allies without requiring congressional approval.
26.4 billion is earmarked for Israel
Here, the funds are earmarked for “defense efforts by Iran and Iranian proxy organizations in the region, as well as to offset US military spending following the recent attacks.”
The funding includes a total of 5.2 billion to restore the defensive capacity of the Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defense systems, which were activated after Iran’s large-scale air attack on April 13 and 14.
Washington will also use $4.4 billion to replenish its own stockpiles delivered to Israel and provide another $3.5 billion to the Jewish state through the Foreign Military Financing Program.
Attached to the package is legislation that would allow Washington to impose “the most comprehensive sanctions against Iran passed by Congress.” This would mean sanctioning ports and refineries accepting Iranian oil, as well as anyone involved in the trade in Iranian military drones.
A total of $9.2 billion is earmarked for humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. However, this has been offset by a cut in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East following accusations by Israel that members of the organization were involved in the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
Last but not least is the support for the Indo-Pacific region.
A total of $3.3 billion is earmarked for the development of submarine production and maintenance, $2 billion is earmarked for Taiwan, and $1.9 billion will be used to restore defense capabilities provided to Taiwan and others in the region.
That package includes legislation signed by Biden that would ban the use of the social network TikTok in the US if China-based parent company ByteDance fails to sell its app within a year.
The law comes into effect amid concerns that TikTok is collecting and sharing user data for the Chinese government.
Claims denied by the social network’s management, which says ByteDance is “not an agent of China or any other country” as 60% of the company is held by international investors.
