American taxpayers, perhaps without knowing it exactly, are not only supporting the war in Ukraine but also almost its entire economy, as revealed by the program "60 Minutes," on the CBS network, through an educational audiovisual report featuring military personnel, politicians and merchants from Ukraine.
“The U.S. has sent more than $70 billion worth of aid to Ukraine since Russian troops crossed its border last year. But now a battle is brewing in Washington over the Biden administration's request for over $20 billion more,” is how the "60 Minutes" report begins, which then goes on to explain where the American money goes.
According to the program, in total, the United States has injected an astronomical figure of almost $25 billion of non-military aid into the Ukrainian economy since the invasion began. A figure certainly lower than the more than 43 billion dollars in military aid, but it is only a little less than the 30 billion dollars contributed by almost all European countries.
60 Minutes discovered the U.S. is financing more than weapons in Ukraine. The government is buying seeds/fertilizer for farmers, paying the salaries of 57,000 first responders and subsidizing small businesses. https://t.co/vKWwWDqUwM pic.twitter.com/BxXItNgQce
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 24, 2023
The economic boost, which ultimately comes from American taxpayer dollars, is palpable in sectors of various areas, from the agricultural area to the informal economy.
For example, "60 Minutes" shows the case of Tatiana Abramova, who owns a clothing store.
Abramova openly explained that American officials from USAID, the federal agency in charge of international development, helped her find foreign clients for her company which supports 70 families.
“We realize that it's the aid from government, but it's the aid from the heart of every ordinary American person,” Abramova told host Holly Williams.
Another case, according to the program, is that the federal government is purchasing seeds and fertilizers for Ukrainian farmers.
Likewise, it is also covering the salaries of Ukraine's 57,000 first responders. Among these first response teams are, for example, divers who clean the rivers of the remains of war or also experts who train rescue dogs. The financing is quite high.
"60 Minutes" also showed the weapons that the United States is sending to Ukraine, including the Patriot air defense system or the 186 impressive Bradley combat vehicles whose value is between 2 million dollars each.
Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe and now a NATO adviser, said “Without that sort of aid, I think Ukraine would've been probably overrun, defeated-- certainly would've lost a lot more.”
Corruption is no less a concern
The CBS program also showed a side that is of great concern to Ukrainian civil society and perhaps ignored by Americans: corruption in the European country.
Oleksandra Ustinova, an anti-corruption activist and member of the Ukrainian Parliament, spoke with "60 Minutes" and explained the challenges that the young European democracy faces in avoiding the diversion or loss of military aid coming from the United States.
“We have online databases with the serial numbers of every American piece of weapon that your embassy has access to. They can come, type in, let's say, a javelin or a HIMARS and see in which brigade it is, and then go check it if they don't believe,” said Ustinova, who chairs a government commission that tracks all military aid coming into the country.
According to "60 Minutes," these systems come after a Pentagon Inspector General report last year “found the U.S. government was unable to monitor weapons transfers in the early months of the war, in part because the American embassy's staff was evacuated.”
They were also designed after Ukrainian criminal groups stole “some weapons and equipment from the country's military, though they were later recovered by Ukrainian intelligence services.”
According to Ustinova, since the war began, out of a mere sense of survival, society's tolerance against corruption has decreased considerably, since each potential diversion of aid can mean the loss of a life since American taxpayer money finances everything from a missile that can destroy a Russian unit to a helmet that can intercept a bullet.
In fact, the program's report shows that the hotline for Ukrainians to report misuse of USAID aid increased tenfold when criminal groups began operating throughout Ukraine to steal foreign aid.
"60 Minutes" reported that, for now, American officials are investigating four criminal cases related to non-military aid and that more than 170 Ukrainian government officials were charged with corruption in 2023 for crimes such as embezzlement and acceptance of bribes.
