The US government plans to cancel almost 5 billion dollars of debt for Ukraine

The administration of the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, has submitted a statement to Congress about the intention to cancel half of Ukraine’s debt for economic assistance – approximately 4.65 billion dollars. This information was confirmed by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during a briefing on Wednesday, November 20.

The US Congress passed the Law on additional appropriations for the security of Ukraine in the amount of about 61 billion dollars in April 2024.

According to the terms of this document, economic aid – about 10 billion dollars – is provided to Kyiv not on a free basis, but as a conditional revolving loan.

Read also: The USA announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth 275 million dollars

At the same time, the document gives Joe Biden the authority to forgive 50% of this loan.

It provides that from November 15, 2024 – a week after the US presidential election – the current president can forgive up to 50% of this loan, while the other 50% of the loan can be forgiven on January 1, 2026 already by the next president.

“We took a step that was outlined in the law to cancel these loans for economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress can pass it,” Miller said.

After the White House notifies Congress of the decision, lawmakers can pass a resolution objecting to it. However, according to Miller, this will not happen.

“I would be surprised if Congress took that step, given the overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress for bailouts. But we will abide by the law,” explained the spokesman.

The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, signed a bill on the allocation of nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. It came after Democrats and Republicans in Congress agreed on the bills after months of disagreement among some Republicans over continued US support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.