Vice President Kamala Harris announced Saturday, while in Lucerne, Switzerland for the Summit on peace in Ukraine, that the United States would provide $1.5 billion towards energy assistance, emergency infrastructure repairs, and humanitarian efforts. The funds will be allocated as follows: $500 million for energy, $324 million for infrastructure repairs, and $379 million for humanitarian services such as food, water, and healthcare for Ukrainians.
Harris made the announcement following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit. She characterized the ongoing conflict as a failure for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and emphasized that “it is in our interest to uphold international norms.”
Harris also addressed a proposal put forth by Putin at the summit, describing it as an attempt to demand surrender rather than encourage negotiations. The comments came hours after the House of Representatives passed The Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act in April, which provided $60.84 billion for the war against Russia.
Zelensky also met with President Joe Biden earlier this week at the G7 Summit, and recently announced that Ukraine retained “combat control” of the Kharkiv region despite a Russian troop invasion earlier this year. Russia, however, continues to control the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson, having hosted presidential elections earlier this year in which Putin was re-elected.
