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1 1 (December 23, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goverum0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con re &on I flesedrch Service horujig Aecji ive le a~m 'e1914 0 Updated December 23, 2024 Russia's War Against Ukraine: U.S. Policy and the Role of Congress On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which Russia first invaded in 2014 and has partially occupied for more than a decade. Russia's effort to change international borders by force has led to the largest war in Europe since World War II, with more than 1 million estimated killed or wounded and more than 10 million displaced. The current state of the war and presidential transition in the United States have heightened interest in possible efforts to negotiate a ceasefire or settlement to the war. Members of the 119th Congress may assess the prospects for and consequences of such potential efforts, as well as the implications for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and U.S. policy toward NATO. Overyew After a year of relative stalemate, Russian forces made new gains against Ukrainian forces in the latter half of 2024, capturing an estimated 1,200 square kilometers (463 square miles) since August. Russia has also received increased assistance from China, North Korea, and Iran. While Ukraine continues to receive U.S. and European assistance and launched its own incursion into Russian territory in August 2024, Ukraine's armed forces have suffered heavy casualties and been unable to recruit sufficient personnel to replace losses and block Russian advances. At the same time, Russian military operations have led to relatively high Russian casualties. Some observers posit that the ability of each side to sustain recruitment may be an important factor in determining the war's duration and outcome. The Biden Administration joined leaders of the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the 27- member European Union (EU), and other Group of Seven (G7) countries in calling Russia's invasion of Ukraine illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked. The United States, in coordination with the EU, NATO, and others, has provided substantial assistance to Ukraine and imposed expansive sanctions on Russia. To deter further aggression, the United States and NATO have increased their military presence in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine Ass tance and Re ated Fundn Since February 2022, Congress has enacted five supplemental appropriations measures that have provided assistance to Ukraine and other countries affected by the war, as well as related funding. This funding has included support for U.S. European Command's Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR), under which the United States provides security assistance to Ukraine and conducts other military activity to strengthen the collective security of European partners, according to the Special Inspector General for OAR (SIGOAR). In September 2024, SIGOAR assessed that Congress had provided $183 billion in supplemental and base appropriations for OAR and other U.S. government activities relating to Ukraine from FY2022 through FY2024. As of December 2024, the Biden Administration had announced foreign assistance commitments to Ukraine that totaled more than $100 billion since 2022. This amount includes almost $63 billion in security assistance, more than $30 billion in direct budget support, and almost $4 billion in humanitarian assistance (including support for Ukrainian refugees in other countries). The Administration has also committed at least $5 billion in development assistance for Ukraine's energy, agriculture, and governance sectors, among others. About $9 billion of FY2024 assistance was provided in the form of forgivable loans. The next U.S. Administration may have up to several billion dollars' worth of previously authorized or obligated security assistance available to provide to Ukraine, if it so chooses. As of December 2024, EU members and institutions and NATO allies had collectively committed at least $194 billion in assistance to Ukraine since February 2022. The EU and its member states have also provided assistance to support Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia, and other countries and international organizations have also provided assistance to Ukraine. The 119th Congress may consider whether or not to provide further assistance to Ukraine and, if so, in what form (e.g., grants, loans, defense articles). In doing so, Members may assess whether or not new U.S. assistance to Ukraine, and possibly new security arrangements with Ukraine, would help to achieve potential objectives-for example, a stable ceasefire or restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia Sanctions U.S. sanctions on Russia aim to limit and reverse Russian aggression in Ukraine and to deter broader Russian aggression and other malign activities. Since February 2022, the United States has imposed Russia-related sanctions on at least 5,750 individuals and entities, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, other Russian elites, Russia's legislature, defense and technology firms, state-owned companies, and international facilitators of Russian sanctions evasion. U.S. sanctions also restrict Russia's central bank from drawing on its U.S.-dollar- denominated reserves, prohibit most major Russian banks from conducting most transactions in U.S. dollars or with U.S. persons, and bar new U.S. investment in Russia. The United States has expanded export controls intended to limit Russia's access to sensitive or desired U.S.-origin goods and technology; restricted the import into the United States of energy, gold, certain diamonds and metals, and

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