Biden approves the $300M US defense budget for Ukraine, and his administration has begun urgent negotiations with the G7 to transfer frozen Russian assets.

On December 22, US President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides a record $886B for defense needs in the 2024 fiscal year. It continues the operation of the initiative that provides security assistance to Ukraine, authorizing the allocation of $300M for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years (through September 2025).

Funds to support Ukraine included in the US defense budget are separate from the $111B funding bill, which is currently stuck in Congress.

Meanwhile, according to NYT sources, the Biden Administration has begun urgent negotiations with allies in the G7 on the use of $300B in frozen assets belonging to the Russian central bank. The Biden administration is pressuring the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan to prepare corresponding strategies by February 24.

The US and its allies must decide whether Ukraine will receive these funds directly and for what purposes they can be directed.