The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will seek to forgive $4.7 billion of debt owed by Ukraine to the U.S. The debt is part of a funding bill passed by Congress earlier this year, which included in its $61 billion of aid to the country some $9.4 billion dollars of forgivable loans. The administration will exercise the option to forgive half the debt, provided that the move is not blocked by Congress.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who has criticized American aid to Ukraine in the past, has made a motion to prevent the debt forgiveness. However, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that he expects the debt forgiveness to be approved by Congress without issue, as Ukraine aid still has substantial bipartisan support.
The debt forgiveness is part of a larger push by the Biden administration to expand American aid to Ukraine as much as possible before the incoming Trump administration takes over in 2025. Trump has expressed skepticism about America’s posture towards the conflict and promised to end the war “on day one.” The last-ditch effort includes the approval of using American-targeted long-range missile systems to strike Russian territory and approval for supplying Ukraine with antipersonnel mines, along with ensuring that all the remaining aid budget appropriated by Congress is disbursed to the country by the end of the year.
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