Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $1.5 billion aid package for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, at a peace summit in Switzerland on Saturday.
“This war has been a complete failure, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Harris, Said During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I come to Switzerland to join Ukrainian and world leaders in advocating for a just and lasting peace,” she added. “We expect and work toward peace, and the United States is committed to helping Ukraine rebuild.”
The White House announced that $500 million of the new aid total will be dedicated to energy assistance. press releaseAs Russian attacks continue to target Ukraine’s energy sector, the effort will dedicate $324 million of previously announced funds to help repair the country’s energy infrastructure.
More than $379 million will go towards humanitarian assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department to “address the urgent needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and conflict-affected communities affected by Russia’s brutal war against the Ukrainian people,” according to the announcement.
Humanitarian assistance will include food assistance, health services, shelter, water and sanitation services, as well as psychological support services and other assistance to help families restore income and meet basic needs, the White House said.
President Zelensky thanked Harris for attending the summit and said U.S. cooperation was “vital to bringing peace closer.”
The aid will also be used to support security efforts in cooperation with the State Department, helping Ukraine’s border guards and law enforcement agencies continue their work “on the front lines of the war to defend Ukrainian territory.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. has sent more than $3.2 billion in humanitarian aid and nearly $1.5 billion to support Ukraine’s energy sector, according to the White House.
The announcement is as follows: Meeting, conference During the summit between Vice President Harris and Vice President Zelensky, the US stressed its “unwavering support” for Ukraine, despite congressional problems with the distribution of aid earlier this year.
Ukraine on Friday rejected a Russian ceasefire proposal that would have required President Zelenskiy to hand over some territory to Moscow and abandon his goal of joining NATO.
Ukrainian officials called the plan, proposed by Putin on the eve of the summit, “absurd.” They argued that the Russian leader has no real peace plan and only wants “further aggression in Europe.”
The peace summit, taking place in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock near Lucerne, is notable for the absence of Russia. Ukraine has demanded, and Switzerland has agreed, to keep Russia out of the conference. But the Swiss have said that if true peace is to be achieved, Russia must be included at some point.
