In a story that will have a major impact on this week’s budget debate, the CBS News program 60 Minutes aired a report Sunday evening on U.S. government aid to Ukraine, showing that in addition to billions in military aid to help the country defend against After the Russian invasion, the U.S. spent nearly $25 billion in non-military aid, including paying the salaries of Ukraine’s 57,000 first responders and subsidizing small businesses to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat.
60 Minutes correspondent Holly Williams traveled to Ukraine this summer to report on what the US funds and how it is taken into account. The report will give ammunition to both sides of the arguments over US financing of Ukraine, but it is quite clear that the report is intended to support those who support the Ukrainian war effort.
Joe Biden is facing resistance in Congress over his request for an additional $26 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Williams met with three U.S. Senators in Ukraine, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and mentioned the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in the report.
Williams also spoke with retired NATO adviser Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges and a Ukrainian lawmaker focused on rooting out corruption and responsibility for U.S. weapons.
60 Minutes Report posted on YouTube:
The report was also posted in parts on X Twitter.
US Bradley Fighting Vehicles have been involved in some of the deadliest fighting in Ukraine. The US has sent 186 vehicles, costing about $2 million each.
“This is the best vehicle I have ever seen,” said Ukrainian lieutenant Oleksandr Shyrshyn. https://t.co/a9UPA06ISw pic.twitter.com/XdqgkquZmq
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
Russian troops fear the American weapons used by Ukraine, Lt. Oleksandr Shyrshyn told 60 Minutes. https://t.co/qjlPibCbY5 pic.twitter.com/ingMxU1sGr
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of the U.S. military in Europe, says Russia poses an existential threat to the U.S. and Europe. https://t.co/rFYiULRylS pic.twitter.com/7AO9iN57pI
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
60 Minutes discovered that the US is funding more than just weapons in Ukraine. The government buys seeds/fertilizer for farmers, pays the salaries of 57,000 first responders, and subsidizes small businesses. https://t.co/vKWwWDqUwM pic.twitter.com/BxXItNgQce
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
“We are monitoring. We are tracking every device. There has been no diversion. No evidence of embezzlement,” Senator Blumenthal said of US military aid to Ukraine. https://t.co/DGHtmyUT40 pic.twitter.com/P766yWT2ZR
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
“It is the help from the heart of every ordinary American,” said Tatiana Abramova, a small business owner in Ukraine. America has pumped nearly $25 billion in non-military aid into the Ukrainian economy since the Russian invasion. https://t.co/LX7D9Kd6mL pic.twitter.com/32U9c7mS4I
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
Ukraine is ranked as the second most corrupt country in Europe by Transparency International. But anti-corruption politician Oleksandra Ustinova, who monitors military aid, says tolerance for corruption is near zero and the crackdown is ongoing. https://t.co/zBTvFY8HLg pic.twitter.com/eYzRsLEoEC
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
For the Americans who say we cannot afford to continue supporting Ukraine, Lieutenant Oleksandr Shyrshyn has a simple message. https://t.co/qsOn6grSZV pic.twitter.com/WHeOAw09W0
— 60 minutes (@60minutes) September 24, 2023
Excerpt from the 60 Minutes transcript:
The US has spent just over $43 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. That equates to about 5% of the US defense budget. European countries together have contributed about $30 billion.
US missile launchers now reach deep into Russian-occupied Ukraine… and the Patriot air defense system protects millions of Ukrainian citizens from air strikes.
Holly Williams: Where would the Ukrainians be now without American weapons? How much of their land would they have lost?
General Ben Hodges: Without that kind of help, I think Ukraine would probably have been overrun and defeated – and certainly would have lost a lot more.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges was commander of the US Army in Europe. He retired in 2017 and is now an advisor to NATO. Hodges told us that the Biden administration has failed to explain to Americans what they get for their dollar in Ukraine.
General Ben Hodges: If you think about it, Russia has been and continues to be an existential threat to Europe and the United States for decades. I mean, just listen to what their leaders say. Look at the thousand nuclear weapons. They will clearly continue if not stopped.
Holly Williams: It sounds like you’re saying that stopping Vladimir Putin in Ukraine directly benefits every American.
General Ben Hodges: Absolutely. This war is about so much more than just Ukraine.
Holly Williams: Is this a high point for American foreign policy?
General Ben Hodges: It will be after Russia is defeated.
American taxpayers fund more than just guns. We discovered that the US government was buying seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers… and covering the salaries of first responders in Ukraine – all 57,000 of them.
(Pause)
Senator Lindsey Graham: People ask me, “Is it worth it?” This is what we got for our investment. We have not lost a single soldier. We reduced the fighting power of the Russian army by 50%, and none of us were killed. This is a great deal for America.
Senator Elizabeth Warren: We have to trust that the dollars we spend are actually spent in defense of the nation. That’s all important. But that’s why we’re here.
The senators – and other US officials – told us that there have been no substantiated cases of US weapons being diverted.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: The US Department of Defense should tell a story about surveillance. We monitor. We track every device. No diversion took place. No evidence of embezzlement. This is an American success story about helping a partner fight for freedom.
The House of Representatives is embroiled in a controversy over the $300 million for Ukraine in the defense bill that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he would withdraw but then changed his mind. Several Republican members of Congress, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), have said they will not vote for bills that include funding for Ukraine.
Greene posted a video on Friday reiterating her opposition to funding Ukraine:
This is why I’m not in Washington right now. https://t.co/SEgPSC1ZG0
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 22, 2023