“Today, I have signed into law S. 1605, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” U.S. President Biden announced on Dec. 27, according to the White House.
Along with spending for the U.S. military, the Act designates $300 million to Ukraine for defensive support in 2022.
The media site ‘The Hill’ pointed out that “the House passed the Bill by an overwhelming bipartisan 363-70 vote in early December, and later the Senate passed the bill with an 88 -11 vote.
U.S. Senators spoke with President Zelensky
U.S. Senator Rob Portman wrote on his web page on Dec. 24 that $300 million of the U.S. military budget for 2022 is being given to Ukraine “to help train, equip, and provide support for the Ukrainian armed forces in their effort to defend their independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity against Russian aggression.”
Senator Portman referred to a video call he and more than 20 members of the US House and Senate had with President Volodymyr Zelensky on the same day during which they discussed the Russian build-up on Ukraine’s borders, military assistance for Ukraine and the Minsk peace process.
Democratic reforms in Ukraine needed
“We also talked about democratic reforms in Ukraine,” according to the Senator, and the need for
“Ukrainian leaders to continue to promote additional reforms in order to further position Ukraine for EU and NATO integration.“
Holding Russia accountable
Senator Portman related that it is important to “hold Russia to its international commitments” including promises to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and that “President Putin’s demands for a sweeping dialogue to reset the security situation in Eastern Europe should not be recognized when they are made at the barrel of a gun”.
Portman was referring to the build-up of a reported massive build-up of Russian troops within and near Ukraine's borders and a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would take unspecified military action if his demands for a security guarantee from the U.S. and NATO are not met soon.
Talks between the US, NATO and Russia.
The U.S. and Russia will have talks on Jan. 10, according to a Reuters report on Dec. 28. The same report indicates that NATO will have discussions with Russia on Jan. 12, and there will be more talks with the EU, OSCE and other parties on Jan. 13.
U.S. Military commander talked with Russian commander.
U.S. Joint Chief of Staff General Mark Milley had a phone call with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Dec. 22, according to a readout from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
According to Joint Staff Spokesperson Col. Dave Butler,
“The phone call is a continuation of communication between both leaders to ensure risk reduction and operational de-confliction.“
As the leaders agreed to keep the communication private, further details of the call were not made public.
U.S. looks forward to talks with Russia
"The United States looks forward to engaging with Russia," a spokesperson for the National Security Council told the media. "When we sit down to talk, Russia can put its concerns on the table and we will put our concerns on the table with Russia's activities as well," the spokesperson said, Deutsche Welle reported on Dec. 28.
