Biden Administration Approves $20 Billion Loan to Ukraine After House Halts New Aid
The Biden administration has announced a $20 billion loan to Ukraine, sourced from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. This decision comes just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to reconsider U.S. financial support for Ukraine and prioritize ending the ongoing conflict, assumes office.
Reports indicate that this loan is part of a broader $50 billion aid package from the G7, arriving shortly before President Joe Biden’s departure from the White House.
Kyiv receives this funding at a crucial juncture as President-elect Trump has signaled his preference for an immediate resolution to the conflict rather than what he has labeled an "endless war," according to Breitbart News.
Trump has increasingly scrutinized U.S. financial assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. As recently as last weekend, he suggested he would “probably” scale back aid to the nation.
“These funds — paid for by the windfall proceeds earned from Russia’s own immobilized assets — will provide Ukraine a critical infusion of support as it defends its country against an unprovoked war of aggression,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated.
The G7 loans, Yellen added, “will help ensure Ukraine has the resources it needs to sustain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its brave resistance,” as reported by AFP.
This financial package was revealed just days after Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, during the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening ceremony.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the assistance, emphasizing that it “will strengthen Ukraine’s defense and help protect our sovereignty and people against unprovoked aggression.”
The Treasury Department noted that $20 billion had already been transferred to the World Bank for distribution through an existing program. However, the infusion of funds is expected to extend the conflict at a time when the incoming Trump administration is preparing to prioritize an end to the nearly two-year war, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers.
Trump’s stance on ending aid to Ukraine gained traction during his campaign, particularly as many Americans faced domestic crises, including issues like border security and inadequate disaster relief after hurricanes.
Earlier in the week, House Speaker Mike Johnson underscored that no additional aid should be provided to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration.
“As we predicted and as I said to all of you weeks before the election, if Donald Trump is elected, it will change the dynamic of the Russian war on Ukraine, and we’re seeing that happen,” Johnson remarked during a Republican leadership press conference.
He added, “It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now. We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander-in-chief’s direction on all that, so I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
The Biden administration had initially requested $8 billion for Ukraine’s military support, training, and additional assistance, with the Department of Defense seeking an additional $16 billion for expanded resources.
In September, Trump vowed to end the conflict before officially taking office. “I want to get Russia to settle up with Ukraine and stop this — millions of people being killed, far greater than the number you read about,” Trump said at the time. “But I want to get that done before I even take office… too many people dying, too many cities are just in rubble right now, you look at the cultures just being destroyed.”