Biden approves defense budget with US$300M for Ukraine - media

U.S. President Joe Biden has signed the National Defense Allocation Act (NDAA), which designates funding for major U.S. defense policies and, among other items, provides for security assistance to Ukraine.

That’s according to a report by The Hill referring to the White House, Ukrinform reports.

"The House passed the bill by an overwhelmingly bipartisan 363-70 vote in early December, and the Senate later passed the bill by a bipartisan 88-11 vote," the newspaper said.

Among other provisions, the NDAA 2022 provides for the allocation of $300 million in defense assistance to Ukraine in fiscal year 2022. In addition, the U.S. budget will spend $4 billion on the European Deterrence Initiative to counter Russian aggression, as well as $150 million on security cooperation with the Baltic region.

In addition, the document keeps in place the restrictions on cooperation between the United States and Russia in the military area, prohibits the allocation of any funds or activities that would recognize Russia's sovereignty over the Ukrainian Crimea.

The bill includes a provision requiring the secretary of defense and the secretary of state to deliver regular reports to Congress on Russian influence operations and campaigns against U.S. allies and partners. The government shall also report on measures to counter such efforts.

As reported, NDAA 2022 provides for the allocation of $740 billion directly for the Pentagon, which exceeds by $25 billion the motion originally filed by President Joe Biden. The remaining funds will be allocated to related programs, which will determine, in particular, U.S. defense policy abroad.

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