Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration has sent more than $75 billion in cash and equipment to the country for its defense. Most of the aid has gone to Ukraine’s military operations, keeping its government running and addressing its humanitarian needs.
Without it, Ukraine would at best struggle to fend off Russia’s army — and might collapse altogether. But now, as Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, visits Washington, the future of U.S. aid is in grave doubt.
President Biden says Ukraine needs a major new infusion of cash and equipment that only Congress can approve. But many Republicans object to pouring more taxpayer dollars into the faraway conflict and are insisting that Mr. Biden make concessions on unrelated U.S. border security issues for their support.
Here’s a look at what aid the United States has sent to Ukraine and the political debate about whether to continue that support.
How much military aid has the U.S. given Ukraine?
The United States has provided more than $44 billion in military assistance for Ukraine since the war started, more than the next four largest contributors — Germany, Britain, Norway and Denmark — combined, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Throughout the conflict, the Biden administration has been cautious about providing weapons to Kyiv, fearing it would escalate the conflict with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
But first with shoulder-fired Stinger antiaircraft and Javelin anti-tank missiles, and later with HIMARS — High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — and Patriot antimissile batteries, more advanced weapons flowed to the front lines in 2022. The Pentagon has also sent more than two million 155-millimeter artillery shells, the ammunition staple of this war.
The administration dropped its last reservations to major weapons systems this year, sending long-range missiles, called ATACMS, which the Ukrainians used in October to strike a helicopter base.
The White House also agreed to dispatch Abrams tanks and allow Western allies to send U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, although the 31 tanks have yet to see battle and Ukrainian pilots are still training on the planes and are not expected to fly combat missions until next year.
What other kinds of aid has the U.S. sent?
Nearly 40 percent of American aid to Ukraine has been for nonmilitary purposes. That includes spending for humanitarian needs such as housing refugees and direct economic support to keep Ukraine’s government functioning.
Since January 2022, the United States has sent Ukraine $26.4 billion in financial assistance, which includes direct budgetary support to the country’s government. With its economy crippled by Russia’s invasion, Ukraine relies on its backers to maintain basic services like schools, hospitals and fire departments.
The United States has also provided $2.7 billion in emergency food assistance, health care, refugee support and other humanitarian aid, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
While the United States is by far the world’s largest military supporter of Ukraine, the European Union’s financial support, at $79.1 billion, dwarfs the U.S. financial contribution, according to the Kiel Institute. And Germany alone has provided nearly as much humanitarian aid as Washington has, at $2.6 billion.
Will the U.S. send more assistance?
Some Republicans argue that the United States should not spend billions of dollars on a faraway conflict when unmet needs exist at home, with many pointing to high numbers of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico. Former President Donald J. Trump has criticized American aid for Ukraine, saying in July that Mr. Biden was “neglecting America’s vital interests” while “needlessly and dangerously leading us into World War III” with Russia.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio, called it “preposterous” to think that Ukraine could eject Russia from every inch of its territory and said that more “blank checks” from the United States were unlikely to turn the tide. “What is $61 billion going to accomplish that $100 billion hasn’t?” Mr. Vance asked.
And the new Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, has insisted that any Ukraine aid package be tied to strict border security measures opposed by many Democrats. Even some hawkish Republicans who have in the past criticized Mr. Biden for not doing more to support Ukraine now say that additional aid should be linked to difficult U.S. border issues.
“I will not vote for any aid until we secure our border,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said on CNN this month. He added, “I’m not helping Ukraine until we help ourselves.” Mr. Graham has long been among the leading voices in Congress calling for more aid to Ukraine.
How has Biden responded?
In a speech last week imploring Congress to pass additional funding for Ukraine, Mr. Biden defined American support for Ukraine as a critical national security imperative.
“This cannot wait,” Mr. Biden said in remarks at the White House just hours before the vote for the $111 billion bill, which would have provided about $50 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, more for economic and humanitarian aid and another $14 billion toward arming Israel in its war against Hamas.
Mr. Biden said Americans should take pride in helping Ukraine, for almost two years, to blunt the invasion and occupation plans of Mr. Putin.
Even before the vote for additional funding for Ukraine failed, Mr. Biden called it “stunning that we’ve gotten to this point in the first place.” He accused Republicans in Congress of being “willing to give Putin the greatest gift he could hope for.”
The president also said he was prepared to offer “significant compromises” on border restrictions — a key Republican demand.
Has the flow of weapons stopped?
Administration officials have warned that the United States will run out of money to support Ukraine by the end of the year unless Congress approves more.
But Pentagon aid to Ukraine is not likely to run completely dry. The Defense Department is still doling out $100 million to $175 million worth of arms, ammunition and equipment from Pentagon stockpiles every week or so.
The department has been forced to shrink the size of the regular military shipments from its inventories to make the remaining $4.8 billion in authority to draw down from military depots last longer. But Pentagon officials caution that only $1.1 billion is left to replenish those stocks.
Pentagon officials say they could stretch out of the shipments to last through the winter, when the pace of fighting is expected to decline. And there are still billions of dollars of orders for new weapons and equipment that will be delivered directly from manufacturers to Ukraine over the next several months.
But the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. funding, and whether European allies could pick up the slack, has already caused havoc with Ukrainian war planning as commanders say they are rationing artillery rounds.
