Mar 16, 2022: U.S President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a 1.5 trillion bill that would fund federal operations by September and send billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as the country fights a Russian invasion.

Washington had to approve the spending plan by the end of the day to prevent a government shutdown. The bill includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, which fits a broader US effort to bolster Ukraine’s defense, damage Russia’s economy and help civilians displaced by the war.

The money will provide defense equipment and training, as well as assistance to Ukrainian refugees at home and in neighboring countries.

“We’re moving further to augment support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country,” Biden said Tuesday before he signed the bill. He added that the U.S. will be “better positioned to provide for the rapidly growing humanitarian need of the Ukrainian people.”

Biden signed the bill shortly after the White House announced it would travel to Brussels later this month for an extraordinary summit on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also approved funding a few hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scheduled address to the US Congress on Wednesday morning.

“This war has turned nearly 3 million Ukrainians into refugees,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “That’s on top of more than 12 million people who require humanitarian assistance inside Ukraine. The United States is helping to lead a global humanitarian response with our partners in Europe and beyond.”

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