Elaine McCusker, Frederick W. Kagan & Richard Sims
Introduction
Supporting Ukraine in defeating Russia is in the security and financial interests of the United States. The United States and the international community have provided assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. During that time, Congress has appropriated $175 billion for this purpose, including $112 billion for the Department of Defense. How do we know the investment is worth it for America’s security and prosperity? After all, even though most of this money is spent in the United States, America has plenty of its own problems, including securing the southwest border, managing the deficit and interest on the national debt, and engaging in other regions, such as the Pacific and Middle East.1
As the national debate continues over aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, the American Enterprise Institute study on alternative Ukraine futures clarifies the question of cost as it relates to what is in the best interest of the United States.
This project assesses the potential consequences for defense spending if Russia were to defeat Ukraine and demonstrates that the aid the United States currently provides to Ukraine through the defense budget would be dwarfed by the costs of a victorious Russia, a cost we estimate would increase the defense budget by $808 billion over five years.
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