Originally published in the Autumn 2024 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 75, printed November 6. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Autumn 2024 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

Staff Report

The Council on Foreign Relations is an Establishment think tank founded in 1921 that specializes in U.S. foreign policy and international relations.

In an online article dated Sept. 27, 2024, the CFR reported that, since the war in Ukraine intensified in February 2022, “…the U.S. Congress has voted through five bills that have provided Ukraine with ongoing aid, doing so most recently in April 2024.

“The total budget authority under these bills – the ‘headline’ figure often cited by news media – is $175 billion.

“The historic sums are helping a broad set of Ukrainian people and institutions, including refugees, law enforcement, and independent radio broadcasters, though most of the aid has been military-related. Dozens of other countries, including most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), are also providing large aid packages to Ukraine.”

Note: The figure of $175 billion only refers to money actually appropriated by Congress. It doesn’t include the many more billions sent to Ukraine outside of that funding.

All this money – our tax dollars – ensures that the war will grind on indefinitely, weakening Russia and ensuring continued U.S. dominance in that part of the world.