U.S. House approves 2025 defense budget without extending Lend-Lease for Ukraine

Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova reports.

She noted that 281 congress members supported the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, while 140 legislators (16 Republicans and 124 Democrats) voted against it. 

"This year, the NDAA bill approved by the Senate included provisions for extending the Lend-Lease Act for Ukraine's defense, and the Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. actively advocated for it. However, the bill approved by the House did not contain such provisions. The consolidated text of the bill does not include this provision. The embassy continues to work actively to preserve this mechanism, which is also included in the bipartisan and bicameral Stand with Ukraine Act," said Markarova.

Main provisions of the document on Ukraine

Article 1303 extends the ban on using any funds for actions that could lead to the recognition of Russia's sovereignty over the occupied regions of Ukraine.

Article 1534 tasks the U.S. Secretary of Defense with exploring the possibility of establishing a center of excellence to support the development and improvement of artificial intelligence-based weapon systems. Among its functions is promoting cooperation between the Pentagon and foreign partners, including Ukraine, to identify best practices, guidelines, standards, and performance metrics.

Article 6411 directs the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to the Senate and House committees on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Judiciary, Financial Services, and Appropriations regarding Russia's funding of acts of international terrorism. The report is unclassified but may contain classified annexes.

The document is set to be reviewed by the U.S. Senate next week.

For reference, Lend-Lease, officially known as the Act to Promote the Defense of the United States, is a policy under which the U.S. supplies its allies with ammunition, equipment, food, strategic raw materials, including petroleum products, and other supplies.

It is provided on the basis that such assistance is crucial for the defense of the United States. This aid includes military ships, aircraft, and other weapons.

The Lend-Lease Act has been adopted twice in history. It was first signed on March 11, 1941, during World War II, and again after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on May 9, 2022.

It should also be noted that Lend-Lease is not the only mechanism for providing assistance to Ukraine. The U.S. provides military aid to Ukraine through the following programs: the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), Foreign Military Financing (FMF), and Presidential Drawdown (PDA) from U.S. weapon reserves.

• U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Lend-Lease Act for Ukraine on May 9, 2022.