The Biden administration is expected to ask Congress for a spending package that could significantly exceed $10 billion for the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a leading Democratic senator said Friday.
The estimate by Sen. Chris Coons, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that controls foreign aid and State Department expenditures, provided an initial look at the costs American taxpayers could bear as a result of Russia’s attack on its western neighbor.
Coons, D-Del., told reporters that he is expecting the request to cover the costs of helping millions of Ukrainian refugees who could flee to Poland and nearby NATO countries and supporting those nations’ armed forces.
He also seemed to suggest that U.S. aid to Ukraine could continue should it fall to Russian forces, saying there is “strong enthusiasm” for providing money to resupply, train and “whatever other covert and overt support is necessary and appropriate for the Ukrainian resistance.”
