The United States taxpayer is paying for seeds, fertilizers, small businesses, and the salaries of first responders in Ukraine. This was revealed by CBS this Sunday, which dispatched its 60 Minutes team to the country to learn first-hand where American funds are going.
CBS reporter Holly Williams traveled to a forest 15 miles from the front line in eastern Ukraine. She spoke to Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, a former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe and now an advisor to NATO.
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Hodges explained that the Biden administration has, in CBS’ words, “failed to explain to Americans what they’re getting for their dollar in Ukraine.” According to Hodges, the U.S. government is buying seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers, and is paying the salaries of Ukraine’s 57,000 first responders.
60 Minutes discovered the U.S. is financing more than weapons in Ukraine. The government is buying seeds/fertilizer for farmers, paying the salaries of 57,000 first responders and subsidizing small businesses. https://t.co/vKWwWDqUwM pic.twitter.com/BxXItNgQce
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 24, 2023
The first responders who get their salaries covered include dogs that search wreckage for survivors and divers who swim in the country’s rivers looking for undetonated bombs. America is also subsidizing Ukrainian small businesses, such as a knitwear shop whose owner CBS interviewed. Officials from the government agency dedicated to international development, USAID, said they are using government funds to help her find customers abroad.
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In early 2023, USAID put up posters around Ukraine with a hotline to report misuse of U.S. government assistance. Calls began flooding in by a multiplier of ten. The American government is currently investigating four criminal cases. This year, 170 Ukrainian government officials, including military officers of high rank, have already been arrested and charged with corruption—specifically, embezzlement and bribery.
According to the official numbers as derived from the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations package and across three 2022 spending packages, the U.S. has spent about $113 billion on Ukraine since the breakout of the Russo-Ukraine War.
Of this $113 billion, $67.1 billion was spent on defense and $46 billion on nondefense. Nondefense spending can be broken down to economic support fund ($26.9 billion), international disaster assistance ($7.9 billion), assistance for refugees ($6.6 billion), assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia ($1.5 billion) and other nondefense.
On Aug. 10, Biden asked Congress to approve another $24 billion for Ukraine. The ratification of this is being contested by the growing political divide between congressional factions. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wants it to be debated as a standalone package, while the Senate is pressuring him to include it in a quick pass-through bill aiming to avoid the looming government shutdown.
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