The Remarks President Biden Should Deliver About United States Assistance To The Government Of Ukraine, But Probably Will Not

The White House
Washington DC
19 October 2023

Good evening.

I am speaking to you from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) next to The White House.  The building originally housed the Navy, State, and War Departments. 

Dwight Eisenhower, for whom this building is named, knew a lot about war- particularly its consequences and how an attack upon one country can become an attack upon many countries. 

In 1943, during World War II, he was named by Frankin Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, and led the allies (United Kingdom, United States, and then U.S.S.R. along with eleven governments-in-exile) to victory- defeating Adolph Hitler, his Nazi Party, and his One Thousand Year Reich. 

Dwight Eisenhower was not just a four-star general- he became a five-star General of the Army.  And in 1952, he was elected the 34th President of the United States, serving two full terms.

I mention President Eisenhower because today the United States faces an increasing number of conflicts, wars, and potential conflicts and wars. 

He appreciated the necessity of forging alliances and obtaining resources to implement both offensive and defensive actions.  What then-General Eisenhower faced eighty years ago we, the United States and other countries, face in many respects today. 

In 2008, during the Bush-Cheney Administration (2001-2009), Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, ordered the armed forces of the Russian Federation to invade the sovereign country of Georgia, a former Republic of the U.S.S.R. which gained independence in 1991.  This after George Bush, 43rd President of the United States, said that he could see President Putin’s soul.  The response by the United States and its allies was in hindsight lacking in long term thinking.

In 2014, during the Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017), President Putin ordered the armed forces of the Russian Federation to invade the Crimean Peninsula and the Donbas Region (Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast) of Ukraine, a former republic of the U.S.S.R. which gained independence in 1991.  Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, forged with allies a consensus response as best possible at the time.  That response was clearly neither robust enough nor obviously persuasive enough.  Yes, I served as Vice President under President Obama and officially supported his decisions at the time.

In 2022, during the Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ), President Putin ordered the armed forces of the Russian Federation to invade and invade further into the internationally-recognized borders of Ukraine.  This time, President Putin had the cooperation, rather collaboration, of a co-conspirator, Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus (1994- ), who permitted his country to be occupied by the armed forces of the Russian Federation and then permit the armed forces of the Russian Federation to invade Ukraine.  Mr. Lukashenko is the Benito Mussolini of the 21st Century, who in the 20th Century founded the National Fascist Party in Italy and went on to lead his country as a member of the Axis (Germany, Japan, and Italy) supporting Adolf Hitler.  By the way, his demise was quite ugly- at the hands of his own citizens. 

On 24 February 2022, President Putin defined the invasion of Ukraine as a Special Military Operation [SMO] then on 22 December 2022 he redefined as a war. 

News flash- it was a war from the moment the first missiles impacted Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine early in the morning of 24 February 2022 and members of the armed forces of the Russian Federation murdered innocent men, women, and children. 

Some of the most horrific war crimes were committed by the armed forces of the Russian Federation who entered Ukraine from the north through Belarus and attempted to capture the capital, Kyiv.  They failed due to the heroism of members of the armed forces of Ukraine and the heroism of the civilian population.

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019- ) holds the Collective West, meaning primarily members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) responsible for 2022.  He reasons that President Putin was emboldened because in 2008 and in 2014 there were neither deterrents to dissuade President Putin from invading Ukraine nor were there dissuasive consequences once those invasions materialized.  He has a point. 

Since 2008, the totality of the commercial, economic, financial, political, and military sanctions implemented upon the public sector and private sector of the Russian Federation, have not worked as hoped.  They clearly were not effective; they were not dissuasive as instruments to convince President Putin to order the armed forces of the Russian Federation to withdraw from the internationally-recognized 1991 boundaries of Ukraine.

So how has President Putin’s despicable decisions impacted the forty-four million citizens of Ukraine during the last nineteen months?  The country has lost more than thirty percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

To put that into an individual perspective, imagine you lost thirty percent of your salary for nineteen months- but had to continue to make all the payments that you made when you had one hundred percent of your salary?  That is what happened to the government of Ukraine.

Doctors, nurses, teachers, fire fighters, police officers, border patrol agents, income tax personnel, trash collectors, social workers, bus drivers, were all still needed, and all needed to be paid.

Add to this the armed forces of the Russian Federation now occupied twenty percent of Ukraine- areas critical for agricultural production, heavy industry, and access to ports for exports.

During the last nineteen months, combined civilian and military dead and wounded among Ukrainians is estimated to be 250,000, with a similar number for the Russian Federation.

During the last nineteen months, the armed forces of Ukraine has lost more men and women than the United States lost during the seven years of the Vietnam War- that was 58,220.

Since 24 February 2022, the United States Congress has appropriated US$113.1 billion for Ukraine-related expenditures.  In addition, using Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which authorizes the president to remove military equipment from United States inventories and deliver them to other countries, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) has delivered approximately US$25 billion to Ukraine and to countries which have delivered their military equipment to Ukraine, but are in need to replacements.  Some of the funds have been directed to the DOD to sign contracts to replace the military equipment which has been delivered to Ukraine and other countries.

I recently requested the United States Congress authorize US$25 billion for Ukraine-related purposes.  These funds are projected for disbursement over a three-month period.  But, that is not nearly enough.

Given the economic, financial, and political realities facing the United States, particularly issues relating to enacting a fiscal year 2024 budget, which was due on 1 October 2023, leadership issues facing the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives, and the November 2024 presidential election, I believe imperative that the United States Congress appropriate now all of the funds expected necessary from now through the end of 2024 to support Ukraine and to support those countries supporting Ukraine.  

Certainly, we all hope for a resolution to the Russian Federation-Ukraine war as soon as possible, but for that to happen, imperative that the government and citizens of the Russian Federation, the governments and citizens of those countries supporting the government of the Russian Federation, and the governments and citizens of those countries who have chosen thus far to remain undecided, that the government of the United States and citizens of the United States will continue to support Ukraine.

Here's the deal… The United States government is operating on an annual deficit which was approximately US$785 billion in 2022 and will likely be more than US$2 trillion for 2023 and even more in 2024.  We are expected to spend approximately US$7 trillion this year and take in approximately US$5 trillion.  I am not oblivious to this. 

Annual interest payments on our national debt, which exceeds US$33 trillion and continues to increase, will be approximately US$700 billion.  Comparably, the 2024 budget for the United States Department of Defense is US$832 billion.

The US$113.1 billion appropriated relating to Ukraine in 2022 by the United States Congress was all borrowed money.  The interest rate on that borrowing was approximately 3 percent.  That means, because the United States government continues to spend far more than it takes in and makes no meaningful effort to pay down the national debt, which is more than US$33 trillion, United States taxpayers will likely be paying more than US$3.3 billion in interest annually in perpetuity.

Today, I am asking United States taxpayers borrow an additional US$96 billion for expenditures relating to Ukraine.  These funds should be adequate to provide military and civilian support through 31 December 2024.  If the war ends sooners, the allocated funds will be returned to the United States Department of the Treasury, thus reducing what was to be borrowed.  The funds will not be re-allocated.  They will not be spent. 

I am also announcing, after consultation with the government of Ukraine, that United States taxpayer funds will no longer be supporting anti-corruption programs in Ukraine, development programs in Ukraine, and programs which in any way assist the government of Ukraine and private sector in Ukraine with integration with the European Union.

These decisions are for two reasons. 

First, the government of Ukraine has known since its independence in 1991 what is necessary to reduce, and hopefully eliminate the endemic corruption that has plagued the country.  Corruption in Ukraine is not a result of the Russian Federation-Ukraine war.  The government of Ukraine should self-finance and self-police that effort.  If they choose not to, then the consequences will be theirs. 

Second, the government of Ukraine wants to be a member of the European Union and the European Union wants Ukraine as a member.  So, it is appropriate for those parties to fund all integration programs.  I have instructed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to terminate as quickly as possible those programs which are not directly relating to defending Ukraine today.  United States taxpayers should not be asked to borrow funds to create a Ukraine different from what existed before 24 February 2022.

Also, most of the funding to the government of Ukraine has been in the form of grants rather than loans.  The European Union and non-European Union countries have focused upon loans rather than grants.  From this point forward, so too with the United States government.  Yes, this adds to the financial burden for the government of Ukraine and citizens of Ukraine, but I must first focus upon the financial burden incurred by United States taxpayers.

What do I mean by “as long as it takes”? 

From 2014 to 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the armed forces of Ukraine engaged in conflict, primarily within the Donbas Region.  United States taxpayers were involved- providing government-to-government civilian support and military support primarily through our membership in NATO.

During the last nineteen months, United States taxpayers have borrowed approximately US$150 billion relating to Ukraine.  Now, I am asking for another US$96 billion for use during the remainder of 2023 and for throughout 2024.  Does this mean United States taxpayers should plan on another US$96 billion for 2025 and then another US$96 billion for 2026?

If the Russian Federation-Ukraine war, in terms of the territory controlled by either party in October 2023 looks similar in October 2024, is that worth another US$96 billion of United States taxpayer borrowing, paying interest, and likely paying that interest in perpetuity?  No.

In May of this year, governments supporting Ukraine delivered 98% of the equipment that was promised to be delivered primarily for use in the summer offensive planned by the armed forces of Ukraine.  To date, that offensive has not meaningfully re-occupied on a permanent basis internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine controlled by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

This reality suggests there may well need to be positioning for a de-escalation, cease-fire, armistice, peace talks.  The government of Ukraine may not want to talk about it, consider it.  They need to be realistic in planning for an outcome they may not want.  I will not ask United States taxpayers to in perpetuity borrow money so that the armed forces of Ukraine may continue to wage battle for a change in boundaries that is unlikely to materialize.

Unfortunately, these realities must too recognize the likelihood the government of the Russian Federation will not abide by whatever agreement it might sign.  Now they may- particularly given the impact of sanctions upon their commercial, economic, financial, military, and political infrastructures along with US$340 billion in Central Bank of the Russian Federation reserves frozen in other countries- which the government of the Russian Federation wants returned.

But, that US$340 billion must be set aside for the reconstruction of Ukraine and to reimburse those governments which have provided financial support to Ukraine.  That is only fair.

I know that the government of Ukraine and the citizens of Ukraine will be concerned, no probably more accurately, feel betrayed by my words.

The simple truth is no support is unlimited.  If the funds for Ukraine were coming from a savings account that the United States government had accumulated, then this discussion may well be different.  But, the reality is every dollar for Ukraine is a borrowed dollar, a dollar requiring an annual interest payment, and a duration for that payment unknown.

The United States taxpayers have their priorities, and I must respect those too.  During my administration, several trillion dollars have been borrowed to repair infrastructure, to regain competitiveness, and to focus upon climate change.  Those must be my priorities.

The hard truth is in the end, Ukraine is responsible for Ukraine.  Other governments provide support based upon their respective interests- commercial, economic, financial, military, political, and territorial.

Today, there is no doubt that Ukraine as a country will remain.  The only questions are what its boundaries will be, its territory?  What will be its threats?  Will those threats be manageable?  Can Ukraine become a member of the European Union given its current realities?

There are legitimate concerns that if the government of Ukraine knows that funding will be in place until after the November 2024 presidential election in the United States, it may choose to continue military activities although those might be unrealistic in terms of desired outcome.  Meaning- they would continue to fight but not likely to change the real estate.

Without long term funding in place, the government of the Russian Federation may believe it can wait out the government of Ukraine, not have to make long term commitments itself as to military expenditures.

These are tough choices- the United States and for Ukraine and for those countries also supporting Ukraine.

I hope that the United States Congress will agree to appropriate the requested funds for Ukraine.

Thank you.  Good night.  And may God bless the United States and our troops.

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