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By Staff, Agencies US President Joe Biden signed into law a $768 billion military package. The signing represents an overall increase in military spending and includes $300 million to be set aside for security initiatives related to Moscow and Beijing.

Biden signed the 2022 ‘National Defense Authorization Act’ [NDAA] on Monday, marking a $25 billion increase on his original proposal and authorizing a 5% boost in US military spending from 2021.

The vast spending package includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which, according to supporters in the Senate, will be used to train and equip Ukrainian forces to defend against alleged “Russian aggression.” Another $150 million was earmarked for “Baltic security cooperation” – another project aimed at deterring Moscow – while a larger sum of $4 billion will be spent on the European ‘Defense’ Initiative, which is intended to bolster Washington’s NATO allies.

The aid package to Ukraine comes as Washington and several other Western nations accuse Russia of amassing forces along its border with Ukraine.

At the weekend, US Vice President Kamala Harris threatened “sanctions like you’ve not seen before,” should Russia make a move against its neighbor.

Though Moscow insists it has no interest in an invasion, it has warned against further NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, deeming the issue a matter of “life and death” for Russia.

It also denounced Western involvement in Ukraine, where the US supported the 2014 ‘Euromaidan’ coup

Original Article Source: Al Ahed News | Published on Tuesday, 28 December 2021 07:52 (about 821 days ago)