With an increase in funds to Ukraine, the U.S. aims to help it hold off Russia

With an increase in funds to Ukraine, the U.S. aims to help it hold off Russia

Transcript¹

The White House sent a $33 billion request to Congress for Ukraine. NPR's A Martinez talks to deputy national security adviser² Jonathan Finer about the largest single funding proposal for the war.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

President Biden says additional U.S. support for Ukraine carries a price tag of $33 billion.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression³ is going to be more costly⁴ if we allow it to happen. We either back Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities⁵ and aggression in Ukraine.

MART?NEZ: All right. Let's get some details on what the money will do if Congress approves it. On the line with us is deputy national security Adviser Jonathan Finer. Thanks for being with us.

JONATHAN FINER: Thanks very much.

MART?NEZ: All right. Let's start with the number, $33 billion. What buckets of assistance are you aiming to fill with that money?

FINER: Well, there's three main categories. First, and obviously, what gets the most attention is the security, military assistance that we've been providing to the Ukrainians since, frankly⁶, far before the conflict began. There's another $20 billion or so that's set aside for security assistance to make sure that they have the arms that they need on the battlefield as the conflict shifts to a new phase with the Russians very focused, as you know, on the south and the east of the country. Second is humanitarian⁷ assistance, and that goes both to provide support for the Ukrainian people under very difficult circumstances inside their own country, as well as for Ukrainians who have left the country and are now refugees in countries on the periphery⁸ and for those countries that are hosting Ukrainian refugees.

A third category is for economic assistance to enable the Ukrainian government to continue to function. You know, it is hard for them under these circumstances to do basic things like collect taxes and generate revenues. And so we are providing some support so that they can continue to provide basic services for the Ukrainian people. And then there is also money for a range of other things like food security. What Russia has done inside Ukraine, which is one of the world's major producers of food and exporters of food, is diminished that supply and created a situation of insecurity. And so we got some funds set aside so the U.S. producers, U.S. farmers can produce more food and so countries that have relied on Ukraine can be provided with some support under these circumstances.

MART?NEZ: And after that first $20 million going to security assistance, $13 million, that's split up with the rest - topics two - three to four, right?

FINER: Correct.

MART?NEZ: OK. The House is out this week. When does the White House hope the Congress will pass this new package?

FINER: Well, look, I will leave that - those considerations to people on the political side of the White House and on the Hill who know those issues far better than I do. What I can say, though, is from the national security perspective, given that Russia has redoubled its efforts on the battlefield in the south and the east of Ukraine and given that we expect this fight to be very intense and to last for some period of time, we think there is an imperative⁹ to pass this funding as quickly as possible. And then we will deploy¹⁰ it to get it into the hands of the people who need it immediately.

MART?NEZ: When you say some period of time, how long does the Biden administration expect this to last?

FINER: I mean, the truth is, nobody knows for sure. But we expect that this conflict could last for a period of not just weeks but even months, and that we are going to need to show resolve, as both the United States has and the rest of the international community has, to continue to support Ukraine as it remains¹¹ under attack by Russian forces.

MART?NEZ: If it continues months, as you say, or maybe even stretches into years, by showing resolve, does that mean an endless supply of cash for Ukraine, considering all the issues and needs that Americans have here at home?

FINER: So what I'd say about that is nothing is endless. We obviously live in a time of finite resources, as we always do. But the president has been clear that so long as Ukraine remains under attack by Russia, the United States will continue to provide support for the people of Ukraine as they wage this fight. We think that the level of support that we've provided up until now has enabled the Ukrainians to have a degree of success on the battlefield. We think we need to continue that. The funds that we have requested yesterday, which the president has said will last for the next five months, we think will enable us to continue to execute this strategy that has enabled the Ukrainians to have the success they've had up till now.

MART?NEZ: So just to be clear, as long as Russia is attacking Ukraine, President Biden is committed to trying to secure as much financial assistance for Ukraine as possible, regardless of how long that lasts.

FINER: What the president has said and what we will execute is support for the Ukrainian people so long as they are under attack from Russia.

MART?NEZ: All right. On the endgame, both money and strategy, I mean, how many more billions do you think it will take to help Ukraine get to a point where they can maybe be independent from us?

FINER: Well, I mean, again, I'm not going to speculate to the infinite future. What we've said is the money that we've requested yesterday, we believe, is enough to sustain this fight for the next five months through the end of this fiscal¹² year. We've laid out the categories with some degree of specificity where they need this money. And we asked Congress to pass it as quickly as they can.

MART?NEZ: But can you understand how, you know, some Americans might feel like, hey, wait a second, I mean, this feels like an endless stream of money heading outside of the country?

FINER: I mean, we get this question from both sides. We get this question from the perspective of kind of why are you not providing more assistance, more support for the government of Ukraine? We think we have provided an amount that has enabled Ukraine to succeed. Russia had much larger ambitions when they started this conflict, to take over the entirety or nearly the entirety of Ukraine, to topple the government of Ukraine in Kyiv. In large part because of our support and because of the bravery in fighting that the Ukrainians have shown on the battlefield, Russia has had to scale back those ambitions. They are now very focused on the south and the east. And we think we need to stay on top of our strategy of providing the support to enable the Ukrainians to succeed. Again, nothing is infinite. Nothing is endless in terms of our support. But we think the level of support we've provided has enabled success up till now, and we think that we are going to continue it so long as Ukraine remains under attack.

MART?NEZ: And so what constitutes remain under attack? I mean, what's an acceptable strategic end to Russia's incursion?

FINER: You know, to a large extent, that is going to be defined by the Ukrainians themselves. They have had some negotiations¹³ with the Russians on this. We don't see a lot of progress in those talks. We think both countries at this point are inclined to continue fighting so long as Russia has objectives that the Ukrainians just simply will not be able to live with. But we, you know, are very closely in touch with the Ukrainians on their objectives for the battlefield. You know, they are the ones who are under attack. They are the ones who are trying to defend their territory and their country. They're the ones who will define their war aims. And we are providing support for those efforts. But it's not for us to sort of lay out what the end state of this should be. That is really something for the Ukrainians to decide.

MART?NEZ: All right. That's deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer. Thanks for taking the time.

FINER: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

9 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

10 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。