US spending for Ukraine arms, proxy war against Russkies continues to SKY-ROCKET, suckers

Apollonian

Guest Columnist
Biden wants Ukraine aid slipped into massive US govt funding bill

His latest request could push total spending on the war to $70 billion. Will Congress get the chance to even debate it?

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022
Written by
Andrew Lautz

Link: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2...allocating-ukraine-aid-with-little-oversight/

The White House knows members of Congress have one major priority left on their to-do list before they leave Washington, D.C. to campaign in the midterm elections: pass a spending bill that keeps the government open beyond September 30. The Biden administration would like lawmakers to tack a huge emergency spending package onto that must-pass bill, and they’re proposing the United States commit $13.7 billion more to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion.
Attaching a major emergency spending package to a must-pass spending bill robs members of Congress of more debate and deliberation about the contours of such an emergency package. Faced with casting a protest vote against aspects of the emergency spending or avoiding accusations of effectively “voting for a government shutdown,” many members may choose the latter path.
If Congress accedes to the Biden administration’s request, then the U.S. government will have committed nearly $69 billion in taxpayer funds to Ukraine in just six short months. While U.S. policymakers and citizens of all ideological stripes support helping the people of Ukraine beat back Russian military aggression, it’s up to Congress to carefully scrutinize each funding request from the administration. Instead, too many lawmakers have sought to measure their level of support by how much money they can direct to the cause — much of it to the U.S. military rather than the people or government of Ukraine.
The latest request from President Biden allocates about half of the total funding to the Department of Defense ($7.2 billion) and the other half to the Departments of State and Energy ($6.5 billion). This is in line with the first Ukraine aid package Congress passed ($13.6 billion total, which included $6.5 billion for DoD and $6.8 billion for State) and the second, much larger aid bill Congress passed ($41.6 billion total, including $20.1 billion for DoD and $19 billion for State).
As noted above, if the Biden request passes as is, then total U.S. taxpayer commitments to Ukraine will approach $69 billion in six months. For context, that’s more than triple what the U.S. spent in Afghanistan in the first year after 9/11 before adjusting for inflation, and still more than double what the U.S. spent in the first year of Afghanistan after adjusting for inflation. It’s also more than the State Department’s FY2022 budget and what Russia spent on defense in 2021.
This spending is not paid for or offset elsewhere in the budget. Congress has not, for example, given the regular DoD budget a haircut to cover the costs of sending DoD billions more to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Instead, as my organization National Taxpayers Union has noted, all of the current and proposed Ukraine funding will be “financed by more debt, which American taxpayers will have to pay back someday.” In fact, rising interest rates mean that the interest costs alone on this $69 billion in debt could be an additional $14 billion to $15 billion over 10 years, raising the taxpayers’ total tab for Ukraine assistance to as much as $84 billion.
Using DoD’s own methodology for its Cost of War reporting on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, if Congress passes the Biden request, the war in Ukraine will have cost each taxpayer in America about $373 in six months, or about $62 per taxpayer per month.
Many may say that cost is worth it, especially when it comes to the economic and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing the Ukrainian people. However, for many Americans, $373 is not an investment they would want to see squandered or, worse yet, to fall into the wrong hands.
I have written before:
“Spending surges to federal agencies come with an enhanced risk for waste or misuse of taxpayer dollars, and we would encourage Congressional watchdogs and the State Department IG to exercise vigorous oversight of how any emergency funding [in Ukraine] is spent.”
Afghanistan unfortunately offers a cautionary tale. I wrote for Responsible Statecraft in May:
“Among the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) ‘best practices’ for future aid in Afghanistan, released earlier this year, are: ‘insist[ing] that any organization receiving U.S. funding is fully transparent,’ ‘set[ting] a tolerable level of risk, and be[ing] ready to end an activity if that risk becomes too great,’ and ‘keep[ing] track of how money is used and regularly reassess[ing] to see if activities are actually helping people.’ Other best practices include ‘determin[ing] clear, relevant metrics that measure actual outcomes, not just how many dollars were spent,’ and ‘be[ing] prepared to pull the plug” when activities are going poorly.’
In the months since, there’s little evidence that Congress or the administration are taking these best practices seriously. According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, DoD has not “estimat[ed] long-term costs” for equipment and infrastructure projects in Europe, and has not yet taken GAO up on its recommendation to “develop cost estimates for sustaining posture initiatives … in the long term.”
And already some of the most hawkish members of Congress are suggesting President Biden’s $13.7 billion request is not enough. Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), an influential lawmaker who has pushed defense spending above sustainable levels for years, tweeted that the Biden administration’s proposal “is insufficient.” Inhofe also argued “Congress will have to lead again,” presumably by increasing the topline taxpayer commitment in this third Ukraine aid package.
Many Americans support sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to help the people of Ukraine, and will continue to support doing so. That does not give lawmakers, DoD, or the State Department a free pass to send money out the door without proper safeguards or a long-term plan for U.S. engagement in the war. Both are still missing from the bigger picture debate about U.S. funding for Ukraine.
 

The War in Ukraine Marks the End of the American Century. “What’s Left is a Steaming Pile of Dollar Denominated Debt”​

By Mike Whitney
Global Research, September 10, 2022

Link: https://www.globalresearch.ca/war-ukraine-marks-end-american-century/5782901

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First published on Global Research on July 7, 2022
***
“The ferocity of the confrontation in Ukraine shows that we’re talking about much more than the fate of the regime in Kiev. The architecture of the entire world order is at stake.” Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence.
***
Here’s your ‘reserve currency’ thought for the day: Every US dollar is a check written on an account that is overdrawn by 30 trillion dollars.
It’s true. The “full faith and credit” of the US Treasury is largely a myth held together by an institutional framework that rests on a foundation of pure sand. In fact, the USD is not worth the paper it is printed on; it is an IOU flailing in an ocean of red ink.
The only thing keeping the USD from vanishing into the ether, is the trust of credulous people who continue to accept it as legal tender.
But why do people remain confident in the dollar when its flaws are known to all? After all, America’s $30 trillion National Debt is hardly a secret, nor is the additional $9 trillion that’s piled up on the Fed’s balance sheet. That is a stealth debt of which the American people are completely unaware, but they are responsible for all the same.
In order to answer that question, we need to look at how the system actually works and how the dollar is propped up by the numerous institutions that were created following WW2. These institutions provide an environment for conducting history’s longest and most flagrant swindle, the exchange of high-ticket manufactured goods, raw materials and hard-labor for slips of green paper with dead presidents on them.
One can only marvel at the genius of the elites who concocted this scam and then imposed it wholesale on the masses without a peep of protest. Of course, the system is accompanied by various enforcement mechanisms that swiftly remove anyone who tries to either break free from the dollar or, God help us, create an alternate system altogether. (Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi come to mind.) But the fact is– aside from the institutional framework and the ruthless extermination of dollar opponents– there’s no reason why humanity should remain yoked to a currency that is buried beneath a mountain of debt and whose real value is virtually unknowable.
It wasn’t always like this. There was a time when the dollar was the strongest currency in the world and deserved its spot at the top of the heap. Following WW1, the US was “the owner of the majority of the world’s gold” which was why an international delegation “decided that the world’s currencies would no longer be linked to gold but could be pegged to the U.S. dollar, “because the greenback was, itself, linked to gold.” Here’s more from an article at Investopedia:
“The arrangement came to be known as the Bretton Woods Agreement. It established the authority of central banks, which would maintain fixed exchange rates between their currencies and the dollar. In turn, the United States would redeem U.S. dollars for gold on demand….
The U.S dollar was officially crowned the world’s reserve currency and was backed by the world’s largest gold reserves thanks to the Bretton Woods Agreement. Instead of gold reserves, other countries accumulated reserves of U.S. dollars. Needing a place to store their dollars, countries began buying U.S. Treasury securities, which they considered to be a safe store of money.
The demand for Treasury securities, coupled with the deficit spending needed to finance the Vietnam War and the Great Society domestic programs, caused the United States to flood the market with paper money….
The demand for gold was such that President Richard Nixon was forced to intervene and de-link the dollar from gold, which led to the floating exchange rates that exist today. Although there have been periods of stagflation, which is defined as high inflation and high unemployment, the U.S. dollar has remained the world’s reserve currency.” (“How the U.S. Dollar Became the World’s Reserve Currency”, Investopedia)
But now the gold is gone and what’s left is a steaming pile of debt. So, how on earth has the dollar managed to preserve its status as the world’s preeminent currency?
Proponents of the dollar system, will tell you it has something to do with “the size and strength of the U.S. economy and the dominance of the U.S. financial markets.” But that’s nonsense.
The truth is, reserve currency status has nothing to do with “the size and strength” of America’s post-industrial, service-oriented, bubble-driven, third-world-sh**hole economy. Nor does it have anything to do with the alleged safety of US Treasuries” which– next to the dollar– is the biggest Ponzi flim-flam of all time.
The real reason the dollar has remained the world’s premier currency is because of the cartelization of Central Banking.
The Western Central Banks are a de facto monopoly run by a small cabal of inter-breeding bottom-feeders who coordinate and collude on monetary policy in order to preserve their maniacal death-grip on the financial markets and the global economy. It’s a Monetary Mafia and– as George Carlin famously said: “You and I are not in it. You and I are not in the big club.” Bottom line: It is the relentless manipulation of interest rates, forward guidance and Quantitative Easing (QE) that has kept the dollar in its lofty but undeserved spot.

But all that is about to change due entirely to Biden’s reckless foreign policy which is forcing critical players in the global economy to create their own rival system. This is a real tragedy for the West that has enjoyed a century of nonstop wealth extraction from the developing world.
Now– due to the economic sanctions on Russia– an entirely new order is emerging in which the dollar will be substituted for national currencies (processed through an independent financial settlement system) in bilateral trade deals until– later this year– Russia launches an exchange-traded commodities-backed currency that will be used by trading partners in Asia and Africa.
Washington’s theft of Russia’s foreign reserves in April turbo-charged the current process which was further accelerated by banning of Russia from foreign markets. In short, US economic sanctions and boycotts have expanded the non-dollar zone by many orders of magnitude and forced the creation of a new monetary order.
How dumb is that? For decades the US has been running a scam in which it exchanges its fishwrap currency for things of genuine value. (oil, manufactured goods and labor) But now the Biden troupe has scrapped that system altogether and divided the world into warring camps.
But, why?
To punish Russia, is that it?
Yes, that’s it.
But, if that’s the case, then shouldn’t we try to figure out whether the sanctions actually work or not before we recklessly change the system?
Too late for that. The war on Russia has begun and the early results are already pouring in. Just look at the way we’ve destroyed Russia’s currency, the ruble. It’s shocking! Here’s the scoop from an article at CBS:
“The Russian ruble is the best-performing currency in the world this year….
Two months after the ruble’s value fell to less than a U.S. penny amid the swiftest, toughest economic sanctions in modern history, Russia’s currency has mounted a stunning turnaround. The ruble has jumped 40% against the dollar since January.
Normally, a country facing international sanctions and a major military conflict would see investors fleeing and a steady outflow of capital, causing its currency to drop….
The ruble’s resiliency means that Russia is partly insulated from the punishing economic penalties imposed by Western nations after its invasion of Ukraine…” (“Russia’s ruble is the strongest currency in the world this year“, CBS News)
Huh? You mean the attack on the ruble didn’t work after all?
Sure looks that way. But that doesn’t mean the sanctions are a failure. Oh, no. Just at look at the effect they’ve had on Russian commodities. Export receipts are way-down, right? Here’s more from CBS:
“Commodity prices are currently sky-high, and even though there is a drop in the volume of Russian exports due to embargoes and sanctioning, the increase in commodity prices more than compensates for these drops,” said Tatiana Orlova, lead emerging markets economist at Oxford Economics.
Russia is pulling in nearly $20 billion a month from energy exports. Since the end of March, many foreign buyers have complied with a demand to pay for energy in rubles, pushing up the currency’s value.” (“Russia’s ruble is the strongest currency in the world this year“, CBS News)
You’re kidding me? You mean the ruble is surging and Putin is raking in more dough on commodities than ever before?
Yep, and it’s the same deal with Russia’s trade surplus. Take a look at this excerpt from an article in The Economist:
“Russia’s exports… have held up surprisingly well, including those directed to the West. Sanctions permit the sale of oil and gas to most of the world to continue uninterrupted. And a spike in energy prices has boosted revenues further.
As a result, analysts expect Russia’s trade surplus to hit record highs in the coming months. The IIF reckons that in 2022 the current-account surplus, which includes trade and some financial flows, could come in at $250bn (15% of last year’s GDP), more than double the $120bn recorded in 2021. That sanctions have boosted Russia’s trade surplus, and thus helped finance the war, is disappointing, says Mr Vistesen. Ms Ribakova reckons that the efficacy of financial sanctions may have reached its limits. A decision to tighten trade sanctions must come next.
But such measures could take time to take effect. Even if the EU enacts its proposal to ban Russian oil, the embargo would be phased in so slowly that the bloc’s oil imports from Russia would fall by just 19% this year, says Liam Peach of Capital Economics, a consultancy. The full impact of these sanctions would be felt only at the start of 2023—by which point Mr Putin will have amassed billions to fund his war.” ( “Russia is on track for a record trade surplus”, The Economist)
Let me get this straight: The sanctions are actually hurting the US and helping Russia, so the experts think we should impose more sanctions? Is that it?
Precisely. Now that we have shot ourselves in the foot, the experts think it would be wise to shoot the other one too.
Am I the only one who is struck by the insanity of this policy? Check out this clip from an article at RT:
Russia could earn a record $100 billion from gas sales to European countries in 2022 due to the sharp rise in energy prices, French newspaper Les Echos reported this week, citing Citibank analysts.
According to the paper, the projected income from gas sales will be almost twice as much as last year. The analysis does not take into account profits from the sale of other Russian commodities, such as oil, coal, and other minerals.
Les Echos reports that, despite sanctions and warnings of a sweeping embargo on Russian energy, the 27 EU countries continue to send roughly $200 million per day to Gazprom.”(“Russian gas revenues projected to hit new highs”, RT)
So the revenues from gas and oil sales are literally flooding Moscow’s coffers like never before. Meanwhile, energy prices in the EU and America have skyrocketed to 40-year highs.
Can you see how counterproductive this policy is?
The EU is sinking into recession, supply lines have been severely disrupted, food shortages are steadily emerging, and gas and oil prices are through-the-roof. By every objective standard, the sanctions have not only failed, but backfired spectacularly. Can’t the Biden people see the damage they’re doing? Are they completely divorced from reality?
Imagine if the Ukrainians use Biden’s new artillery battery (HIMARS) to shell cities in Russia? Then what?
Then Putin takes off the gloves and shuts off the flow of hydrocarbons to Europe immediately. That’s what’s going to happen if Washington continues to escalate. You can bet on it. If Russia’s “Special Military Operation” suddenly becomes a war, the lights across Europe will go dark, homes will begin to freeze, factories will go silent, and the continent will slide headlong into a protracted and painful depression.
Does anyone in Washington think about these things or are they all so drunk on their own press clippings they’ve completely lost touch with reality?
Here’s more from an article at RT:
“Even as the collective West continues to insist – against all observable reality – that the conflict in Ukraine is going well for Kiev, major media outlets are becoming increasingly uneasy with the situation on the economic front. More and more observers are admitting that the embargoes imposed by the US and its allies aren’t crushing the Russian economy, as originally intended, but rather their own.
“Russia is winning the economic war,” the Guardian’s economics editor Larry Elliott declared on Thursday. “It is now three months since the west launched its economic war against Russia, and it is not going according to plan. On the contrary, things are going very badly indeed,” he wrote…
In a May 30 essay, Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins also said that the embargo had failed…
As Jenkins points out, the sanctions have actually raised the price of Russian exports such as oil and grain – thus enriching, rather than impoverishing, Moscow while leaving Europeans short of gas and Africans running out of food.” (“As sanctions fail to work and Russia’s advance continues, Western media changes its tune on Ukraine”, RT)
Did you catch that part about “Russia winning the economic war”? What do you think that means in practical terms?
Does it mean that Washington’s failed attempt to maintain its global hegemony by “weakening” Russia is actually putting enormous strains on the Transatlantic Alliance and NATO that will trigger a re-calibration of relations leading to a defiant rejection of the “rules-based system.”
Is that what it means? Is Europe going to split with Washington and leave America to sink beneath its $30 trillion ocean of red ink?
Yes, that’s exactly what it means.

Uncle Sam’s 30 Year Bender

Proponents of Washington’s proxy-war have no idea of the magnitude of their mistake or how much damage they are inflicting on their own country. The Ukraine debacle is the culmination of 30 years of bloody interventions that have brought us to a tipping point where the nation’s fortunes are about to take a dramatic turn-for-the-worse. As the dollar-zone shrinks, standards of living will plunge, unemployment will soar, and the economy will go into a downward-death spiral.
Washington has greatly underestimated its vulnerability to catastrophic geopolitical blowback that is about to bring the New American Century to a swift and excruciating end.
A wise leader would do everything in his power to pull us back from the brink.
 

The War Should Be Ended With A Negotiated Settlement Now Before More Escalation Leads To Horror​

Link: https://tsarizm.com/analysis/2022/0...ting-russia-america-is-with-a-mercenary-army/


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The Ukraine war is now essentially a stalemate. Yes, Ukrainian forces have had some recent success near Kharkiv, but at a high price. The brutal reality is that Russia has approximately 150M people, Ukraine has 40M. Ukraine is a border region of the Russian Federation, and very important to the Kremlin. Now that he has committed forces, Putin cannot let control of the Donbass region go, no matter the casualties. If he allowed that to happen, he would lose power. So, he will follow the old Russian tactic of throwing bodies at the conflict in a long war of attrition. After all, worked well against Napoleon, Hitler, etc.

Ukraine is not fighting this war against Russia. In reality, it is the United States with a mercenary army. America is supplying the weapons, the logistics, the tactics, and many highly-trained troops.

I have personally spoken to dozens of former U.S. special operators who have been involved in recent months in Ukraine. America is fighting this war alright, just not with uniformed soldiers.

The globalists in control of The White House want nothing less than a continuation of the conflict, so they can sell lots of weapons. The globalists desperately do not want to lose control of the Ukrainian playground, where they can launder money and run ‘bio research facilities’.

So, they are throwing the kitchen sink against Russia, and having some recent success.

However, this strategy will lead to continued escalation. The Ukrainian military leadership recently said the quiet part out loud – this could lead to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons by Russian forces.

Putin will have nothing to lose.

Perhaps this is what the globalists want.
 

Zelensky reveals how much US pays Ukraine​

17 saat önce 106

Link: https://cialgetusa.com/zelensky-reveals-how-much-us-pays-ukraine-69605.html

Covering Kiev’s expenses costs American taxpayers $1.5bn a month, according to the Ukrainian president
The Ukrainian authorities is being heavy supported with American money, with Washington contributing $1.5 cardinal per period to the budget, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky has revealed.
The sum was mentioned by the Ukrainian person during an interrogation with CBS big Margaret Brennan for the ‘Face the Nation’ program, which was aired connected Sunday.
Currently Kiev runs “a shortage of $5 cardinal successful our budget,” Zelenksy said, adding that “the United States gives america $1.5 cardinal each period to enactment our fund to fight” against Russia.
Zelensky argued that arming and different helping Ukraine militarily is simply a “win-win” for the US. He pledged that erstwhile Russia is defeated, the Ukrainian radical volition instrumentality to their location state and commencement paying taxes there, relieving the load connected American taxpayers.
“For the United States, it volition beryllium important savings, but for us, it volition beryllium an accidental to unafraid our territory and marque it harmless for our population,” helium stated.
Ukraine not a apical  interest  for US voters – poll
US President Joe Biden has pledged to assistance Ukraine “for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes” to unafraid a strategical decision of Russia, which helium declared Washington’s eventual extremity successful the conflict.
Many Americans bash not stock the president’s presumption that the concern successful Ukraine is crucial. According to the blimpish predetermination pollster Rasmussen Reports, it failed to marque the top-ten database of issues of interest for apt voters.
Earlier this month, the Biden medication asked Congress to authorize immoderate $12 cardinal successful further assistance for Ukraine, including $4.5 cardinal to enactment the Kiev authorities financially beyond September. It asked for $2 cardinal connected apical of that, to assistance Ukraine offset rising vigor prices.
The bundle is expected to beryllium approved connected Friday, but immoderate governmental analysts question whether the currency flows to Ukraine tin beryllium sustained aft the midterm elections successful November.
“America can’t spend to supply a blank checkbook to Ukraine erstwhile we person inflation, state prices, a proviso concatenation crisis, each of the above, going connected astatine home,” a GOP lawmaker told Politico, speaking connected the information of anonymity. “That’s what I’m proceeding from my voters.”
The outlet predicted that if the Republican Party wins the House, Biden volition look much absorption to his requests for exigency assistance to Ukraine.
 

Zelensky Thanks Biden for ‘Another $725 Million Security Aid Package’​


Link: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...for-another-725-million-security-aid-package/

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Zelensky
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
JACK MONTGOMERY 15 Oct 2022

2:27

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has personally thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for supplying Kyiv with another “security aid package” worth $725 million.
“Sincerely grateful to [the President of the United States and] the [American] people for providing another $725 mln security aid package,” the Ukrainian head of state said in a message posted on the Twitter microblogging site.
“We will receive, in particular, much-needed rounds for HIMARS and artillery,” he added.
“A wonderful gift for [Ukrainian] Defenders’ Day! The Russian aggressor will be defeated, [Ukraine] will be free!”

HIMARS, more properly the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, is reported to have been something of a gamechanger on the Ukrainian battlefield, allowing Ukrainain forces to at least partly overcome what had been a significant artillery disadvantage versus the Russians and strike targets including munitions dumps well behind enemy lines.
The Wall Street Journal, which was permitted to embed with a HIMARS unit, reported earlier in October that HIMARS was “responsible for 70 per cent of military advances on the Kherson front”, citing unit commander Lt. Valentyn Koval — but the claim has not been independently verified.
Kherson, a region north of the Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, fell to Russian forces in the early stages of their all-out invasion in February, a rare point of relative success compared to the failed offensive out of Belarus toward Kyiv (Kiev) and their later grinding, now faltering efforts in Donbas. It was formally annexed to the Russian Federation along with three other occupied regions at the end of September following largely unrecognised referendums.
Now, a Ukrainian counter-offensive is threatening to drive Russia out of much of Kherson, with Russian-backed officials in the regional capital, also called Kherson, moving to evacuate residents to Russia proper before the Ukrainians can arrive.

 

Lawmakers Looking to Pass $50 Billion in New Ukraine Aid Before Next Congress​

The plan is due to concerns that massive Ukraine aid may not easily pass through a Republican-controlled House

by Dave DeCamp Posted onOctober 20, 2022

Link: https://news.antiwar.com/2022/10/20...lion-in-new-ukraine-aid-before-next-congress/

Amid talk that it may be harder to push Ukraine aid through a Republican-controlled House if they win the majority in midterms, lawmakers from both parties are considering passing a new massive piece of legislation before newly elected members are sworn in this January.

NBC News reported Thursday that the bipartisan idea under consideration would be to pass a bill for Ukraine aid that could cover an entire year during the lame-duck period. The bill is expected to be worth roughly $50 billion, which would bring total US spending on the war to over $115 billion.

The new aid would likely be attached to an omnibus spending bill. An unnamed Republican senator told NBC that the legislation would make $12 billion of Ukraine aid that was included in a recent stopgap funding bill “look like pocket change.”

News of the plan comes after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) suggested that Ukraine aid may be more difficult to pass in a GOP-majority House by saying they’re not going to “write a blank check” for Ukraine. Other Republicans have insisted that most in the party support shipping billions in aid to Ukraine and that the concerns are more over the lack of oversight.

So far, the Biden administration has not asked Congress for more Ukraine aid. President Biden on Thursday said that he was “worried” a Republican majority House would “cut” Ukraine aid, signaling that a request may be coming soon.

Over in Ukraine, David Arakhamia, the leader of Voldymr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party in parliament, said he was “shocked” by Mcarthy’s comments. “Just a few weeks ago, our delegation visited the US and had a meeting with Mr. McCarthy. We were assured that bipartisan support of Ukraine in its war with Russia will remain a top priority even if they win in the elections,” Arakhamia said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov brushed off McCarthy’s comments, chalking them up to campaign rhetoric. McCarthy himself has been very supportive of spending billions on the war in Ukraine, but questioning the policy could appeal to voters in the US as Americans are facing high inflation and gas prices.
 
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US ANNOUNCED ANOTHER $400 MILLION AID PACKAGE TO UKRAINIAN ARMY​

Link: https://southfront.org/us-announced-another-400-million-aid-package-to-ukrainian-army/

US Announced Another $400 Million Aid Package To Ukrainian Army
Illustrative Image
On November 4, the US Department of Defence announced another military aid package to Ukraine. The approximately $400 million worth package will be provided within the framework of the USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative).
Unlike Presidential Drawdown authority (PDA), “which DoD has continued to leverage to deliver equipment to Ukraine from DoD stocks at a historic pace”, USAI is an authority under which the funds will be used to purchase equipment, arms, and ammunition directly from U.S. defense contractors.
Unlike PDA transfers, which are carried out over a short period (days-weeks), here we have rather a part of long-term plans, the implementation of which is envisaged in the future, including through PDA packages.
The USAI, in collaboration with the United States Department of State, already supports a wide range of security assistance activities, including, but not limited to, intelligence support, personnel training, equipment and logistics support, supplies, and other services.
On november 4, the US DoD launched a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities to Ukraine. The latest $400 million worth package includes:
  • Funding to refurbish HAWK air defense missiles for inclusion in future Presidential Drawdown packages. Funding to refurbish HAWK missiles will complement Spain’s recent commitment of HAWK launchers to help Ukraine meet the threat of Russian air attacks.
  • 45 Refurbished T-72B Tanks with advanced optics, communications, and armor packages. The overhauled T-72B tanks included in this package are part of a trilateral, coordinated effort with the Netherlands and Czech Republic. Alongside the United States, the Netherlands will provide 45 additional T-72B Tanks with the support of the Czech Ministry of Defense and in cooperation with Czech industry. According to the Pentagon representative, some of these tanks will be transferred to Ukraine since the end of December. The deliveries are expected to be completed by next year.
US Announced Another $400 Million Aid Package To Ukrainian Army
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  • 1,100 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • 40 Armored Riverine Boats;
  • Funding to refurbish 250 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles;
  • Tactical secure communications systems and surveillance systems; and
  • Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.
The last US military aid package was announced on October 28. It included $ 275 million for the purchase of MLRS HIMARS and 155-millimeter howitzers.
The US DoD reported that since January 2021, the United States has invested more than $18.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, including approximately $18.2 billion since February 24. “Since 2014, the United States has provided approximately $21 billion in security assistance for training and equipment to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO.”
United States security assistance committed to Ukraine includes:
  • Over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
  • Over 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems;
  • Over 38,000 other anti-armor systems;
  • Over 700 Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • 142 155mm Howitzers and up to 903,000 155mm artillery rounds;
  • 3,500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
  • 9,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;
  • 36 105mm Howitzers and 180,000 105mm artillery rounds;
  • 276 Tactical Vehicles to tow weapons;
  • 22 Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment;
  • 38 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
  • 20 120mm mortar systems and 115,000 120mm mortar rounds;
  • 1,500 Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • Four Command Post vehicles;
  • Eight National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions;
  • Funding to refurbish HAWK air defense missiles for inclusion in future President Drawdown packages;
  • High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
  • 20 Mi-17 helicopters;
  • Hundreds of Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
  • 44 trucks and 88 trailers to transport heavy equipment;
  • 45 Refurbished T-72B Tanks with advance optics, communications, and armor packages;
  • 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
  • 440 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles;
  • Funding to refurbish 250 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles provided via Excess Defense Articles;
  • Mine clearing equipment and systems;
  • Over 10,000 grenade launchers and small arms;
  • Over 64,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition;
  • Over 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets;
  • Approximately 1,800 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • Laser-guided rocket systems;
  • Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • 15 Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • Two radars for Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels;
  • Over 50 counter-artillery radars;
  • Four counter-mortar radars;
  • 20 multi-mission radars;
  • Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • Ten air surveillance radars;
  • Four satellite communications antennas.
  • Two harpoon coastal defense systems;
  • 58 coastal and riverine patrol boats;
  • M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
  • C-4 explosives, demolition munitions, and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing;
  • Obstacle emplacement equipment;
  • Tactical secure communications systems;
  • Four satellite communications antennas;
  • Thousands of night vision devices, surveillance systems, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders;
  • Commercial satellite imagery services;
  • Explosive ordnance disposal equipment and protective gear;
  • Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;
  • 100 armored medical treatment vehicles;
  • Medical supplies to include first aid kits, bandages, monitors, and other equipment;
  • Electronic jamming equipment;
  • Field equipment, cold weather gear, and spare parts;
  • Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.
As of September 9, 2022, nearly 50 other countries have provided security assistance to Ukraine. Their contributions to Ukraine, include 10 long-range Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 178 long-range artillery systems, nearly 100,000 rounds of long-range artillery ammunition, nearly 250,000 anti-tank munitions, 359 tanks, 629 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), 8,214 short-range air defense missiles, and 88 lethal UAVs. Since February 24, Ukraine has been provided with their assistance of approximately $13 billion.

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White House to Send Ukraine Avenger Surface-to-Air Missiles​

by Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter | Nov 10, 2022

Link: https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/white-house-to-send-ukraine-avenger-surface-to-air-missiles/

avenger surface to air




The Department of Defense has announced that it will send Avenger air defense systems and a number of other weapons to Ukraine, bringing US security assistance to Kiev to over $1 billion in the last month alone.
A Pentagon press release issued Thursday says President Joe Biden approved a $400 million weapons transfer to Ukraine. The White House claims it can directly send arms from American stockpiles to foreign governments under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, insisting it requires no congressional authorization for the massive arms shipments. While the military has warned its weapons supplies are dwindling after the White House greenlit 25 rounds of security assistance for Kiev since Russia invaded in February, the aid appears to be set to continue into the foreseeable future.
The latest weapons package will include four Avenger air defense systems, self-propelled platforms capable of firing Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Boeing assembles the Avenger vehicle, while Raytheon – the former employer of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – manufactures its munitions.
This round of arms assistance also includes HAWK missiles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), over 100,000 artillery rounds, 100 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), 400 grenade launchers, small arms, demolition equipment for obstacle clearing and cold weather gear. The HAWK missiles will receive upgrades before being sent to Kiev, with all funding pulled from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed the weapons package at a White House press briefing, saying “This increased air defense will be critical for Ukraine as Russia continues to use cruise missiles and Iranian-made drones to attack critical civilian infrastructure.”
Deputy Defense Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters that Washington is seeking to establish an overlapping network of defensive weapons to protect Ukraine from Russian strikes.
“We’re basically creating … a net of air defense systems of different ranges,” she said. “Whether it’s the Hawk missiles or the [IRIS-T medium range infrared homing missile] that the Germans provided or what we are providing today with the four Avenger air defense systems – all of them have different ranges, all of them contribute differently on the battlefield, which makes the Ukrainians effective.”
The Biden administration has accused Tehran of selling drones to Moscow for deployment in Ukraine. While Iran has acknowledged sending UAVs prior to the war, it maintains no weapons have been delivered to Russia since the invasion began, and that it will not take sides in the conflict.
As of Thursday, the Pentagon reported that total military aid to Ukraine since Biden took office stands at $19.3 billion, with the vast majority of that authorized after Russia’s attack commenced last winter. However, the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy has disputed that figure, instead claiming that overall US military support for Ukraine had surpassed $28 billion by October 3. For several months, Washington has announced new weapons packages for Kiev on a weekly basis.
 

Biden requests additional £31.7bn for Ukraine immediately after Poland missile explosion​

Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve a further, massive aid package that promises to shore up Ukraine's military gains for the coming winter months.​

Link: https://www.express.co.uk/news/worl...raine-Russia-Poland-missile-strike-g20-latest

By ALEKS PHILLIPS
21:02, Tue, Nov 15, 2022 | UPDATED: 22:31, Tue, Nov 15, 2022

Russian military launch missiles to hit ISIS in Syria​

Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve more than $37billion (£31.7billion) in emergency aid to Ukraine. The additional funding, on top of the aid and equipment the US has already provided throughout the invasion, could provide the nation's military with further reinforcements as Russia's defensive lines begin to be established ahead of the winter.

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The US President's funding request, which comes as Congress begins to sit following the midterm elections, also includes $9.25billion (£7.8billion) in Covid funds to prepare for a potential surge of cases in America in the coming colder months.
The administration's funding expires in mid-December, and the aid would be part of a package that would last through the end of September 2023.
The funding request is a sign that the US is still supportive of Ukraine's endeavours to retake occupied territories, following reports that the Biden administration was privately calling on Volodymyr Zelensky to enter peace talks with Vladimir Putin.
It comes after a senior US intelligence official said Russian missiles had crossed into Poland - a NATO member state - reportedly killing two people.


Biden

Biden has asked Congress to approve more than $37billion (£31.7billion) in emergency aid to Ukraine (Image: Getty)

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Western analysts had feared that Ukraine's recent bought of successful counter-offensives - which culminating in the retaking of Kherson last week following a humiliating Russian retreat - may push the Russian President into a rash escalation of the conflict.
Zelensky had been ardent that any peace would require the return of Ukraine's territories.
Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that more than three-fourths of the $40billion (£33.7billion) approved by Congress earlier this year for Ukraine had already been disbursed or committed.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she wrote: "Together, with strong, bipartisan support in the Congress, we have provided significant assistance that has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield — and we cannot let that support run dry."


Poland missile crater

Russian missiles crossed into Poland - a NATO member state - reportedly killing two people (Image: Twitter/@Faytuks)
The proposed Ukraine assistance includes $21.7billion (£18.3billion) for military, intelligence and other defense support; $14.5billion (£12.2billion) in humanitarian and governmental aid; $900million (£758million) for healthcare and support services for Ukrainians in the US; and $626million (£527million) for nuclear security support to Ukraine.
Ukrainian leaders have begged for more advanced, longer-range weapons, but the US has been careful to not provide systems that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russia or put Moscow in range of being attacked.
In recent months, the US assistance has mainly centred on air defense systems and a constant stream of ammunition.
Those systems have been critical in helping Ukrainian forces mount a massive counter-offensive that has been able to send occupying Russian forces into retreat in the south and east of the embattled nation and recapture key territory.


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Shalanda Young

Young: 'We have provided assistance that has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield' (Image: Getty)

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Though the missile fired over the border into Poland this evening may have been accidental, it has instantly sparked concerns that Russia may be looking to escalate the conflict.
Much of the Kremlin's rhetoric around the invasion of Ukraine of late has framed it as a conflict with NATO.
UK Government officials are urgently "seeking clarity" over the reports, while a NATO official said: "We are looking into these reports and closely coordinating with our ally Poland."
Piotr Mueller, a Polish Government spokesperson, did not immediately confirm the information, but said top leaders were holding an emergency meeting due to a "crisis situation".



Gregory Meeks

Meeks: Aid was so 'they have the weapons to continue the momentum moving through the winter' (Image: Getty)
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty - the founding document of NATO - states that "an armed attack against one or more [parties] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all", and may involve an armed response.
Gregory Meeks, a Democrat and House Foreign Affairs committee chairman, said the new emergency request was "urgent to make sure that we get them everything that we can possibly get into the omnibus so that they have the weapons to continue the momentum moving through the winter".
He expressed concerns that Ukraine funding could be jeopardised with the Republican Party in charge of the House.


TRENDING​

Mr Meeks added: "I would hope that if they do take over, that their leadership will get them in line so that we can preserve democracy and not allow Russia to win."
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has warned that his party would not support a "blank check" for Ukraine if they had a majority.
 

Thomas Massie on Biden’s $38B Ukraine Aid Request: ‘Demand a Halt. Demand an Audit. Demand an Inspector General’​

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Link: http://www.hideoutnow.com/2022/11/thomas-massie-on-bidens-38b-ukraine-aid.html

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) slammed the Biden administration’s $38 billion request in additional aid for Ukraine that would bring the total spent on Ukraine in 2022 to twice as much spent on roads and bridges in the United States.
The additional $37.7 billion request, if approved, would bring the total to $104, for just the 2022 calendar year. Massie called for a halt to the request and an audit, as well as an inspector general to oversee the aid.
“Biden’s latest Ukraine spending request will put the US Congress on a trajectory to spend TWICE as much money on Ukraine as we spend on roads and bridges in a year,” he tweeted Thursday morning.
“No one can tell you where it’s all gone or going. Demand a halt. Demand an audit. Demand an Inspector General,” he added.

The Biden administration this week asked Congress for the additional aid package, which includes approximately $22 billion in defense aid and approximately $16 billion in other kinds of assistance to Ukraine.
The path for more aid next year is expected to become more difficult with Republicans winning control of the House in the 2022 midterms.
Some Republicans have pushed for an inspector general for Ukraine aid spending, given the high amounts and low visibility into whether the money or weapons shipped are being used efficiently.
“Joe Biden is requesting another $37+ billion in Ukraine aid — with ZERO accountability. In July, I introduced Amdt. 1109 to the NDAA to establish an Inspector General for Ukrainian Military Aid to oversee these funds. Democrats BLOCKED it. Accountability is coming in January,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) tweeted.

The Biden administration is also asking for $10 billion more for the COVID response efforts. The requests comes ahead of a looming December 16 deadline to fund the government before a shutdown.
 
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