The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the 2025 defense budget without a provision to extend the lend-lease program for Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova announced on Facebook.
Markarova noted that the initial draft of the bill included a proposal to extend the lend-lease program. The Ukrainian Embassy, she said, actively advocated for this provision. However, it was not included in the final bill.
President Joe Biden signed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act on May 9, 2022, a few months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Previously, the lend-lease mechanism was used during World War II, when the U.S. provided military equipment and other supplies to its allies either on loan or under long-term credit arrangements. Between 1941 and 1945, the U.S. delivered more than $50 billion worth of aid through lend-lease, including approximately $11 billion to the Soviet Union.
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