{"id":1531598,"date":"2022-06-28T18:04:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T22:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1531598"},"modified":"2022-06-28T18:04:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T22:04:28","slug":"after-more-than-50-billion-in-aid-zelensky-wants-billions-more-from-american-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-more-than-50-billion-in-aid-zelensky-wants-billions-more-from-american-taxpayers\/","title":{"rendered":"After More Than $50 Billion In Aid, Zelensky Wants Billions More From American Taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafter-more-than-50-billion-in-aid-zelensky-wants-billions-more-from-american-taxpayers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1531598&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/marjan-blan-marjanblan-UDdkJlfn7cU-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr\u00a0Zelensky called for his usual order of war aid in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/news\/rosiya-stala-najbilshoyu-teroristichnoyu-organizaciyeyu-svit-76089\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">speech yesterday<\/a> after a Russian missile struck a Kremenchuk shopping mall, killing at least 12 people, Zelensky said, and injuring 24. Zelensky demanded more help from the West, despite the United States pouring billions of dollars into his government\u2019s coffers while voters grapple with a struggling economy at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world can, and therefore must, stop Russian terror,\u201d Zelensky\u2019s speech read. \u201cAnd now I can already say this \u2013 I heard it from our partners: Ukraine must get reliable missile defense, we are expecting the supply of appropriate systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky seeks to portray Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia as the world\u2019s war with Russia. From his expectation of funding and weapon supply to his targeted language describing Russia as the \u201clargest terrorist organization in the world,\u201d Zelensky understands he needs to convince the world it has a stake in his war if he wants their support. <\/p>\n<p>Yesterday\u2019s speech follows Zelensky\u2019s April statement that Ukraine needs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/zelenskiy-says-ukraine-needs-7-bln-per-month-make-up-losses-caused-by-invasion-2022-04-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$7 billion monthly<\/a> to replenish the resources depleted by the war with Russia. Zelensky\u2019s assumption that the world will provide it, though brash, is by no means unfounded.  <\/p>\n<p>From the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February to May, the U.S. alone has delivered around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/05\/20\/upshot\/ukraine-us-aid-size.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$54 billion in aid<\/a> to Ukraine. The U.S. has sent $6.1 billion in weapons and equipment, per a June 24 Department of Defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3073551\/fact-sheet-on-us-security-assistance-to-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>, though that number doesn\u2019t encompass every military-related expense we\u2019ve incurred in support of Ukraine. Using his Presidential Drawdown authority, President Biden has pulled our own military resources to give billions of dollars worth of equipment and weapons to Ukraine. Biden has issued 13 drawdowns for Ukraine since August 2021.  <\/p>\n<p>Amidst billions of dollars worth of supplies, ammunition, vehicles, body armor, and radars, the U.S. has sent more than 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine (likely valued at around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/exclusive-us-army-replenishes-stinger-missiles-after-ukraine-shipments-2022-05-27\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$630 million<\/a>), more than 6,500 Javelin anti-armor systems (an estimated cost of more than <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/defence\/javelin-anti-tank-missile-symbol-of-ukraines-resistance\/articleshow\/90262377.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1 billion<\/a>), more than 20,000 other anti-armor systems, over 700 Switchblade drones (estimated to cost more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefocus.news\/culture\/switchblade-drone-cost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$4 million<\/a>), 126 155mm Howitzers (worth as much as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-04-28\/155mm-howitzers-ukraine-military-gets-boost-from-old-fashioned-artillery#xj4y7vzkg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$94 million<\/a>) and hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, 20 Mi-17 helicopters (worth around <a href=\"https:\/\/aerocorner.com\/aircraft\/kazan-mi-17-ii\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$300 million<\/a>), and eight High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. This tally does not include the expense of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/06\/27\/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 100,000 troops<\/a> Biden has deployed to NATO-member countries since the Russian invasion. <\/p>\n<p>Our bill is already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/05\/20\/upshot\/ukraine-us-aid-size.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 7 percent<\/a> of the U.S. 2022 defense budget. Even more astounding, the $54 billion we\u2019ve sent is more than the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaldefensemagazine.org\/articles\/2022\/3\/28\/marine-corps-receives-nominal-budget-increase\">entire<\/a> requested budget for the U.S. Marine Corps. Yet Zelensky still wants more from us. As for the $40 billion in aid Biden signed off on in May, there is no direct oversight in how the money is being allocated. With no fiscal responsibility, one has to wonder where the money is going once it reaches Ukraine \u2014 and whether it\u2019s even making it into the right hands.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine ranked the second most corrupt country in Europe in Transparency International\u2019s 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transparency.org\/en\/cpi\/2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Corrupt Perceptions Index<\/a>, second only to Russia. Zelensky recently tightened control by shutting down the opposition\u2019s TV stations and <a href=\"https:\/\/mronline.org\/2022\/03\/24\/opposition-political-parties-banned-in-ukraine-and-unified-information-policy-imposed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">banning over 10 political parties<\/a> in Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough his tenure, Transparency International registered a rise in the level of corruption perceived by the Ukrainian public,\u201d Cristian Nitoiu of Loughborough University, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/6\/15\/how-problematic-is-corruption-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Al Jazeera<\/a>. \u201cIn the policy and academic sphere, Zelensky has been frequently criticised for being in the pocket of Ukrainian oligarchs who did not have a privileged position under Poroshenko\u2019s presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With billions of dollars in aid packages and yet no fiscal responsibility, there is no way to track what went where. We are funding a notoriously corrupt country with the added logistical nightmare of wartime. Worse, we\u2019re funding a war that likely cannot be won. Zelensky needs the world to believe he will win against Russia in order for them to support him. But Russia has shown that it is not deterred by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-05-27\/russian-wins-in-eastern-ukraine-spark-debate-over-course-of-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loss<\/a> and will keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-60506682\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">feeding men and materials into Ukraine<\/a>. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Beth Whitehead is an intern at The Federalist and a journalism major at Patrick Henry College where she fondly excuses the excess amount of coffee she drinks as an occupational hazard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr\u00a0Zelensky called for his usual order of war aid in a speech yesterday after a Russian missile struck a Kremenchuk shopping mall, killing at least 12 people, Zelensky<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1531598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}