By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 12th, 2024
The funding package will specifically go into funding defense equipment as well as in the training of the armed forces of Ukraine.
The United States government has prevented a government shutdown by approving a funding bill that President Joe Biden signed into law on Tuesday. As reported by CNBC, the signed funding bill includes a $13.6 billion funding package to support Ukraine as it continues to fend off the Russian invasion on its soil.
While the new aid package is good news for Ukraine, Washington also had to sign the bill in order to prevent a government shutdown before the close of business yesterday. Per the report, the funding for Ukraine re-affirms the United States’ three-point plan including efforts to help bolster Ukrainian defense, cripple the Russian economy, and help the civilians that have been most affected by the ongoing war.
The funding package will specifically go into funding defense equipment as well as in the training of the armed forces of Ukraine. The aid package will also be used to support displaced Ukrainians both the ones in Ukraine and those that have temporarily migrated to neighboring countries.
“We’re moving further to augment support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country,” Biden said Tuesday before he signed the bill. He added that the US will be “better positioned to provide for the rapidly growing humanitarian need of the Ukrainian people.”
President Joe Biden Is Strengthening Diplomatic Ties
Undoubtedly, the frail diplomatic ties between Russia and Ukraine have met their dead-end at this time. In the wake of this, the diplomatic ties between Russia and other countries are also being strained at a massive rate, and the ongoing war is currently boosting the diplomatic relationship between Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and other countries of the world who are empathetic with Ukraine.
Since the war broke out, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has addressed the British Parliament, and the funding bill was signed just hours before the scheduled plans for Zelenskyy to address the US Congress on Wednesday.
In order to discuss the geopolitical tension in Eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden is also on track to jet out to Brussels, Belgium later this month as announced by the White House. Biden’s trip to Brussels will see the President hold a summit with EU leaders in relation to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The funding bill approved will keep the US government afloat until September, after which the legislative and executive arms of the government will work together to sign yet another funding bill to keep the government running.