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[[TV/web intro: The U.S. Congress has appropriated more than $112 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion one year ago. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson looks back at the scope of that assistance and reports on what happens next.]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUKR 1YR: US CONGRESS AID (TV)
HEADLINE: U.S. Aid Commitment to Ukraine Largest Since US War in Iraq
TEASER: One year later, US lawmakers say Ukraine aid supports American security
PUBLISHED AT: 02/22/23 at 7:15pm
BYLINE: Katherine Gypson
PRODUCERS: Katherine Gypson
CONTRIBUTING:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Rob Parsons
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): ABC, AP, VOA, Reuters, AFP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:22
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
[[TV/web intro: The U.S. Congress has appropriated more than $112 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion one year ago. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson looks back at the scope of that assistance and reports on what happens next.]]
((NARRATOR))
A promise from the Ukrainian president to the US Congress last December…
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President))
“Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
((NARRATOR))
US President Joe Biden pledged an additional half billion in aid as he marked the one- year anniversary of the invasion, saying support for Ukraine would not waiver.
((President Joe Biden))
“All across my country, in big cities and small towns, Ukrainian flags fly from American homes. Over the past year, Democrats and Republicans in our United States Congress have come together to stand for freedom.”
((Nata, bombing of Kyiv))
((NARRATOR))
US lawmakers’ response in the first days of the invasion was swift, with overall broad support for assistance most say is key to American security.
((Senator James Risch, Republican))
“Both the United States and our allies around the world quickly came to a consensus that we need to support Ukraine's defense and its people, territory and way of life from Russian aggression.”
((NARRATOR))
Congress would ultimately send the largest aid package for a foreign conflict since the US war in Iraq.
((Voice of Matt Glassman, Georgetown University))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: SKYPE))
“We had the situation where the administration was asking for not a trivial sum of money. And many people on the Hill – bipartisan – had wanted them to go further and provide more offensive and powerful weapons to Ukraine. And so that's sort of unusual in American history. Typically, presidents are on the leading edge of these sorts of international conflicts.”
((NARRATOR))
But a year on, public support in the U.S. appears to be softening. According to a February 2023 Associated Press poll, forty-eight percent of Americans favor sending weapons, down from 60 percent who favored the move in a May poll of last year. Congressional support for Ukraine is still strong, but there is growing disagreement about how much aid to send and for how long.
((Rep. Ryan Zinke, Republican))
“What's the plan? To suggest that it's just open-ended, a blank check in Ukraine. And remember, when we ship armament to Ukraine, we don't control where their armaments [are] going because we've given them a blank check. I don't like blank checks.”
((NARRATOR))
Ukraine has made moves to address concerns about internal corruption and US lawmakers say they’re satisfied with the results they’ve seen on firsthand visits.
((Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican))
“We're very reassured that that our military assistance is going to where it should be going to, and that accountability and transparency is there.”
((NARRATOR))
Leading foreign policy voices in the Senate say the outcome of the war in Ukraine will have consequences for US policy for decades.
((Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat))
“What is at stake is not only the Ukrainians’ freedom, which in and of itself is important, but also the proposition that you cannot by force, take another country's territory, because if that can become the rule of the day, there are many despots and authoritarians who will seek to do that.”
((NARRATOR))
With no clear end to the conflict in sight, the US Congress is expected to debate additional aid in the coming months.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Capitol Hill))
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