On Thursday, Congress moved closer to approving Ukraine’s request to postpone making payments on the hundreds of billions of dollars the country has received from the United States, European countries, and other countries across the world, Fox News informed.
By a vote of 350 to 80, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 was approved by the House on Thursday. That 4,400-page document has a section titled “Ukraine Debt Payment Relief” in it.
In accordance with that clause, the U.S. treasury secretary will direct American officials at international financial institutions to utilize their clout and influence to urge their organizations to give Ukraine the proper debt relief right now.
It gives Treasury the go-ahead to seek comprehensive debt payment relief for Ukraine with other nations and commercial creditors through “immediate efforts.”
The phrase simply refers to debt relief; it makes no mention of the aid provided to Ukraine this year to help it fend off Russia’s incursion.
The United States is by far the largest donor of help to Ukraine, providing the war-torn nation with weapons, equipment, logistics support, training, and other forms of assistance. Additionally, the U.S. has given Ukraine economic assistance of billions of dollars, which is equivalent to most of Ukraine’s annual budget.
Ukraine was given $4.5 billion under a bill that was passed earlier this year to help it preserve macroeconomic stability and offer essential services to its citizens.
The Biden administration requested an additional $37.7 billion in aid for Ukraine from Congress last month. If it passes, the Congress will have authorized spending on Ukraine totaling more than $100 billion, but not all of that money got to Ukraine; for instance, large sums are being spent to restock American arsenals.
However, the United States will be the country most impacted by any international proposal to free Ukraine from repayments or to ultimately forgive the debt.
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