Biden Announces Nearly $2.5 Billion in Ukraine Aide
Joe Biden has been virtually invisible since the election, but he just dropped a bombshell on the American people.
On his way out the door, Biden announced another aid package for Ukraine to the tune of $2.47 billion.
Corruption
With the United States handing over billions in aid to Ukraine, we would think that the Biden administration would be counting every penny to make sure the aid went where it was supposed to.
Instead, there has been little accountability, which, of course, has led to massive corruption.
For instance, earlier this year, the Ukraine Security Service stated that it uncovered nearly $40 million in corruption in arms purchases.
President Zelensky has fired numerous officials for corruption since the war started, yet the United States is, for the most part, not holding Ukraine accountable for the aid it is receiving with our tax dollars.
More Aid
On Monday, the Department of Defense announced two more weapons packages for Ukraine, totaling $2.47 billion.
The first package is a $1.25 billion package to "provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including: missiles for air defense; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons.”
The second package is worth $1.22 billion, with the administration announcing, "In addition, DoD announced an approximately $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package to provide Ukraine with additional air defense, air-to-ground, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and other capabilities to fight Russian aggression."
Needless to say, the internet erupted with complaints about how this package should not be permitted to pass through, as it should be Trump deciding what Ukraine gets moving forward. Believe it or not, since Trump had stated he would continue to support Ukraine, politically speaking, this is actually good for Trump, but it will increase the national debt, which is already sitting at more than $36 trillion now.
Hold Them Accountable
As I stated before, we continue to give Ukraine all this aid. Still, there is very little monitoring of how this aid is being distributed, which is why we are seeing so much corruption associated with the aid packages.
The Hill just posted an opinion piece by James Durso that makes my exact point, titled, “Hold Ukraine accountable for corruption, misspent aid.” The piece starts, “We have seen something even worse in Ukraine: While Ukrainian military personnel and civilians fight valiantly in a fierce contest for independence, Ukrainian leaders have gotten fabulously wealthy. “
Sadly, as Durso points out, “The sheer scale of waste and fraud will only be revealed by independent investigations after the war’s end.”
If Pete Hegseth manages to get through, or whoever, the Secretary of Defense winds up being, one of their first appointments should be a committee of investigators to track every penny we have given to Ukraine, and to hold that country accountable for the waste and theft. Joe Biden is a sucker, and Trump needs to address this issue immediately.