Under Secretary Victoria Nuland’s Testimony on the U.S. and International Response to Russia’s War on Ukraine
U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
March 8th, 2022 – 9:30 AM EST
Panelists:
The Honorable Victoria Nuland
Under Secretary for Political Affairs
U.S. Department of State
On Tuesday, March 8th, at 930 AM EST, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations heard testimony regarding both the American and international response to Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine. Under Secretary Victoria addressed the committee with updates from the State department as to how much money has been spent in aide for Ukraine over the preceding weeks by the United States and its allies. Furthermore, she answered the members’ questions about what strategies would be most effective in deescalating the conflict, preventing bloodshed, and penalizing Russia’s acts of aggression.
She began by noting the massive humanitarian assistance that the United States in conjunction with UN agencies and European partners have provided the government of Ukraine. This includes food supplies, medicine, health care services, shelter support, and hygienic kits. On Feb 25th, the State Department authorized 350 million dollars in military support with ⅓ of it still not yet arrived in Ukraine. There was also an announcement of an additional fifty four million dollars to be sent for humanitarian aid for those directly affected by Russia’s invasion.
Under Secretary Nuland also discussed the joint coordination between the United States and forty other countries to enact sanctions and export controls on key Russian industries and sectors of the Russian military. This group represents over half of the global economy, and a serious impact has already been made on Russia’s ability to sustain this effort. This has translated to a heavy flight of capital, a descending ruble, rising inflation, increased borrowing costs, and a serious shutdown of access to global financial markets.
In response to questions from the committee Undersecretary Nuland emphasized her concern that Russia’s actions will become more brutal as their military campaign continues to fail and that attacks will become more centered on civilian populations.
For a recording of the full committee hearing, please visit the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearings calendar.