The United States has provided more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. That includes more than $43 billion in military aid.
It is more than the United States distributes in aid to any other country. As the conflict enters its 18th month, US public support for war funding is faltering, especially among Republicans.
Military aid is only one part of the US commitment to Ukraine. Billions of dollars in economic and humanitarian aid have also been pledged to the country.
Funding includes weapons, training, medical supplies, generators, and reconstruction. Experts see this as a massive investment in a US ally not seen since World War II.
“These are amazing numbers,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a researcher at the Brookings Institution. He compared the numbers to US commitments to European countries at the end of World War II. The Marshall Plan, adjusted for inflation, amounted to about $150 billion over three years.
It is difficult to put these figures in context. $60 billion sounds huge compared to arbitrary data like the price of Twitter, the James Webb Space Telescope, or the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan.
It may be quite small when compared to the entire defense budget of the United States.
US aid to other allies
But when compared to US support for other nations, the commitment to Ukraine is unique.
The funding has dwarfed bilateral support for other US allies such as Israel, Jordan and Egypt, some of the biggest recipients of US aid.
O’Hanlon also noted that he has surpassed US support for Taiwan, which in late July received a pledge of more than $300 million in military aid from the Biden administration, as China’s military presence increases. near the island.
International aid to Ukraine
Although the United States is the largest donor to Ukraine, other countries have earmarked a much larger percentage of their GDP to finance Kyiv’s efforts.
As the conflict drags on, American popular support for war funding falters. A June poll by the Pew Research Center found that 44% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think the United States is giving Ukraine too much aid. This has become a topic of conversation among some GOP Senate candidates and two of the party’s leading presidential candidates.
“We could do it forever,” O’Hanlon said of this pace of funding and support for Ukraine. “It is not economically unsustainable. But it’s probably politically untenable.”
Ruby Mellen and Artur Galocha
