The Joe Biden administration pledged Ukraine $39.87 billion in military aid in the six months between February and August 2022, for an average of $228 million per day, fueling what even former US government officials admit is a “brutal proxy war” that is causing tens of thousands of deaths.
Researcher Stephen Semler documented the 21 distinct military aid packages that the Joe Biden administration approved for Ukraine in the year between August 2021 and August 2022, at a total of $40.13 billion.
Two of those 21 pledges were approved before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Excluding these two presidential drawdowns from August and December 2021, which are worth $260 million combined, the Biden administration passed $39.87 billion for military aid in Ukraine between February 25, 2022 (the day after the Russian invasion) and August 19, 2022.
This $39.87 billion in pledged military aid divided by the 175 days between February 25, 2022 and August 19, 2022 comes out to an average of approximately $228 million per day.
This spending does not include the billions more that the US government has pledged in economic aid to Ukraine. It likewise excludes the tens of billions of dollars of military aid that European countries have approved for Ukraine.
Video
Podcast
Sources
“How much military aid has Biden sent to Ukraine?,” Stephen Semler, Speaking Security
“51% of young Americans support tuition-free public college,” CNBC:
A survey from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics found that 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 support eliminating tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for students from families that make up to $125,000, and making community college tuition-free for all income levels for an estimated cost of $47 billion.
“Russia Is Right: The U.S. Is Waging a Proxy War in Ukraine,” Hal Brands, Bloomberg / The Washington Post
“Austin’s assertion that US wants to ‘weaken’ Russia underlines Biden strategy shift,” CNN
“America’s Hesitation Is Heartbreaking,” Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic
“Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say,” New York Times
CIA and Western special ops commandos are in Ukraine, directing proxy war on Russia
Malgorzata
2022-09-03 at 07:33
Thank You Ben
Again very detailed analysis.
On 1st of September Polish head of far right party Jarodlaw Kaczynski and president Duda laid flowers in memory of Polish soldiers and civilians who died in WW2,theygave speaches.But obviously they happy themselves to fuel the proxy war on behalf of USA and NATO ,they are happy that Poland is becoming like Japan and South Korea filled with thousands of American soldiers and their weapons,they are happy for Ukraine and Russia to bleed instead to try to call for peace talks between Poland’s two neighbours.
I am Polish citizen.
Blue Pilgrim
2022-09-04 at 18:07
You are misunderstanding something about MMT. Yes, the Us can creat money at will, but the money created to fund the war is not investing in production nor resulting in producing things of value, and it could just as well simply create that money and give it away to people working in the arms industry for doing nothing. They would spend the money into the economy just as well whether they produced arms or not.
Howeve, it would benefit the US economy and nation even more if those people started jobs producing solar generators, fixing roads and bridges, teaching kids, making art or music, and so forth — it would bolster the real economy instead fo just blowing stuff up, and be much better for both the environment and thepeople being killed in the war.
MMT is a better way to look at the real economy, which exists despite economic models or even the existence of money.
graeme pedersen
2022-09-07 at 04:25
The best thing for all concerned would be for all out war. Putin has allready said, he has no use for a world without Russia. The instigators in Washington,London, Canberra etc Will crawl out of their bunkers and succumb to a much slower death than us regular “Joes”
Eric Arthur Blair
2022-09-07 at 17:10
The USAnian economy is based on perpetual war, driven by rabid propagandistic pro-war narratives. What we need are more satirical, scathing anti-war narratives.
Catch 22 and Slaughterhouse Five were great anti-war novels portraying the insanity of WW2. Deer Hunter and Platoon were great anti-war movies portraying the insanity of the Vietnam war. Where is the great anti-war novel portraying the insanity of the 20 year US murder of Afghans? Until then, here is a hilarious satirical political / scifi dystopian story downloadable for free (until it gets censored for too much truthiness):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwY2c16I4w