"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. funding system for Ukrainian salaries and Kyiv government expenditures is expected to run out in the next month absent a fresh infusion of money from Congress, Ukrainian and American government officials said.
As a government shutdown loomed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sept. 24 that Ukraine would face a severe economic and political shock in the middle of the counteroffensive this fall if Congress cut off assistance to Kyiv.
The U.S. and other donor nations effectively pay the salaries of 150,000 civil servants in Ukraine and more than half a million teachers, professors and school workers, not to mention government expenses ranging from healthcare to housing subsidies.
The telephone call from the U.S. secretary of state was a plea for GOP lawmakers to include Ukraine funding in stopgap measures to keep the U.S. government open, according to their aides.
Six days later, Congress passed a funding bill without aid for Ukraine. Officials in Washington and Kyiv are now looking at what an expected drop in aid means for the country's ability to keep its government running and its economy afloat.
The Washington debate over economic aid to Ukraine has divided Congress, with some Republicans saying U.S. funds should support the American economy.
"I don't see alternatives -- U.S. funding is crucial for Ukraine's survival," said Bill Taylor, former ambassador to Ukraine and current vice president at the congressionally funded U.S. Institute of Peace.
On Tuesday, President Biden spoke with world leaders including the heads of state of the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Japan, Poland and Romania, the French foreign minister, and the secretary-general of NATO, to coordinate support for Ukraine.
"As President Biden made clear, we cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted," said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council. "Time is not our friend."
Since the conflict began, most lawmakers and members of the public have focused on the hardware, including tanks, helicopters, advanced missile systems and millions of rounds of ammunition, all of which the U.S. is uniquely positioned to provide.
Yet when Blinken visited Kyiv in September, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal began a meeting by thanking him for a little-known stream of civilian-budget aid paid via the World Bank. "All wages that are now paid in Ukraine in the public sector over the past year, including social and other programs, are funded through this," Shmyhal said.
In all, the World Bank's "Peace" program has sent Ukraine $23.4 billion, with $20.2 billion funded by the U.S. and $2 billion from the U.K.
Republicans who oppose all funding for Ukraine see federal dollars going to a foreign government as a symbol of not putting domestic priorities first. "We're paying for just about everything" in Ukraine, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on X." [1]
1. World News: U.S. Aid Cutoff Threatens Ukraine's Economic Stability. Mauldin, William;
Walker, Marcus. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 04 Oct 2023: A.8
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