US Defense Bill for 2025: Good News and Bad
The US House of Representatives has approved a new defense bill. It includes several important provisions to help Ukraine.
However, the bill does not extend a special program called lend-lease. This is a concern for Ukraine because they think it might lead to less US aid in the future.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, reported on this change. She said the House voted 281-140 in favor of the bill. This includes both Democrats and Republicans.
The new defense bill has several good points for Ukraine:
* It keeps a ban on using funds that could help Russia take control of Ukrainian territories.
* It asks the US Secretary of Defense to create a center that will develop AI-based weapons with foreign partners like Ukraine.
* It requires a report from top government officials about how Russia finances terrorism.
The ambassador noted that funding for a security program in Ukraine has been set at $300 million.