The U.S. government has assigned nearly $320 million in assistance to Ukraine this year, including in addition to the $1 billion sovereign loan guarantee issued in May 2014, the White House press service reported.
According to the report, the U.S. government has committed over $118 million in equipment and training to Ukraine’s security forces to help Ukraine better monitor and secure its border. This assistance includes the provision of body armor, helmets, vehicles, night and thermal vision devices, heavy engineering equipment, advanced radios, patrol boats, rations, tents, counter-mortar radars, uniforms, first aid equipment and supplies, and other related items.
As reported, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced on Nov. 21 in Kyiv, that, pending approval from Congress, the White House will commit $20 million to support comprehensive reform in the Ukrainian law enforcement and justice sectors, including prosecutorial and anti-corruption reforms. The vice president also announced that the U.S. will be directing an additional $3 million to the UN World Food Program emergency operation in Ukraine for food rations and assistance to people displaced by the conflict in eastern Ukraine and other vulnerable populations.
The U.S. government is contributing to the work in Ukraine of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and non-governmental organizations. These contributions, with the additional assistance announced by Vice President Joe Biden on Nov. 21, will total more $15 million to date and support Ukrainian efforts to ensure adequate reception of internally displaced persons (IDP) as well as to facilitate IDP returns when security conditions allow, including through the provision of food, cash, hygiene kits, medicines, and domestic and winter items.
“We are also supporting efforts to address the humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations in Luhansk and Donetsk through support for emergency activities including the procurement and distribution of safe drinking water and relief commodities, winterization kits, and other items needed to survive the winter,” the statement reads.
The United States will also continue to work with Congress to identify additional opportunities for U.S. assistance to Ukraine. For example, the Administration has requested from Congress an additional $45 million as part of the President’s European Reassurance Initiative that would help build Ukraine’s capacity to provide for its own defense and increase interoperability with U.S. and Western forces.
