Biden asking Congress for additional $24B to help Ukraine - media

This was reported by Politico with reference to a relevant document available to the outlet, Ukrinform saw.

Two congressional aides confirmed the details of the proposal to the publication on condition of anonymity, adding that Congress received it on Monday, November 25.

“The new tranche of emergency Pentagon funding will go toward furnishing weapons and equipment for Ukraine and refilling U.S. inventories of arms transferred to Kyiv,” the report reads. Two-thirds of the requested amount, $16 billion, will go toward replenishing American stocks. The remaining $8 billion will go towaard the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, for which the Pentagon signs contracts with American companies to arm the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

At the same time, some Republicans have already condemned the request, complaining about Joe Biden writing off  $4.7 billion worth of Ukraine’s debt. They believe Congress should not give Biden a “free gift” as the move would allegedly sabotage President-elect Donald Trump’s peace initiatives, Senator Mike Lee on social media.

Biden's request also sparked criticism from Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk, who briefly wrote on social media: "This is not ok", later referring to the move as "Funding the forever war".

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Wednesday the U.S. Department of State confirmed that the Biden administration had taken the first step to cancel Ukraine’s debt worth $4.6 billion.

The money was provided after the bill laying down an aid package for Ukraine worth over $61 billion, passed in April. Legislation provided for the allocation of about $9.4 billion to Ukraine in the form of loans that can be written off for economic and budgetary support. Half of this amount could be canceled by the U.S. president after November 15.

According to the procedure, the president had to inform the U.S. Senate of his intention. At the same time, legislators could refuse the head of state by adopting an appropriate resolution.

Later, the U.S. Senate snubbed the initiative by Senator Rand Paul, who tried to block President Biden's decision to write off half of Ukraine's debt for a loan provided as economic assistance.

Recently, the U.S. announced the allocation of a new package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of $275 million.