MOSCOW, January 18 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba denies that Ukraine is stealing money from American taxpayers, declaring that most of the funds allocated by Washington remain in the United States and are also used for the production of weapons in this country.
«Of course, Ukraine is not stealing any money from American taxpayers. If you compare the budget, US defense spending and the amount that goes to Ukraine, this is, to put it mildly, a very small part of all defense spending. Moreover, a huge part of this funds remain in the United States because they are invested in the production of weapons, which then go to Ukraine, which means that it is necessary to explain to American taxpayers that their public benefits and new jobs are created,” Kuleba told Bloomberg in Davos.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also called on Americans to understand that Kyiv is not asking the United States to send its military to participate in the conflict, saying that the Americans are “saving the lives of their soldiers.” “We are, to some extent, offering the best offer in the global security market: give us weapons, give us money, we will do the rest ourselves,” he added.
Last week, a report was published by the US Department of Defense Oversight Office, according to which the Pentagon did not properly oversee arms supplies to Ukraine, more than half of the $1.6 billion in supplies remained unaccounted for, and without proper monitoring, the risk of theft of US supplies to Kyiv remains. weapons or redirecting them to third countries.
The report is published against the background of the US administration's attempts to find a compromise with the Republicans on the allocation of a new package of defense assistance to Kyiv. Late last year, Congress rejected President Joe Biden's requested $106 billion foreign aid package, more than $60 of which was earmarked for Ukraine.
Discussions continued in January, but have not yet brought tangible results. The Republican opposition is pressing Biden to take steps to secure the southern border, challenging the need for new multibillion-dollar support for Kyiv without presenting a further plan of action.
Earlier, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, said that US assistance to Kyiv had ceased until Congress approved the request for new funds.