Blinken explains why billions go for helping Ukraine

This is how U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken answered an MSNBC correspondent’s question of why American taxpayers should see billions of dollars being spent on supporting Ukraine.

"There are two things going on here.  There’s an aggression against Ukraine and against the Ukrainian people, and I think when any of us see one big country trying to bully a smaller one, we want to do something about it," said Blinken.

At the same time, according to the top diplomat, “more fundamentally for the United States, the other thing that’s being aggressed here are the very principles at the heart of the international system that are so necessary to keeping the peace”.

He emphasized that, should aggressors be allowed to go forward with impunity, Pandora's box would open. And this would be “open season for any would-be aggressor around in the world”.

In addition, Blinken noted, there are two other points to note.

"This is not the United States doing it alone," he explained.

First, it’s the Ukrainians doing the fighting with 50 countries supporting them, who are actually contributing more than the U.S. is, the secretary of state noted.

Second, “those dollars we’re spending, most of those dollars are being spent here in the United States building the weapons that the Ukrainians need”.

"President Zelensky was just in Scranton thanking the folks who are making some of the munitions that are helping Ukraine defend its freedom, but also defend our freedom, because that is a front line in the fight for freedom," noted Blinken.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Thursday US President Joe Biden announced a large-scale defense aid package for Ukraine in the amount of $7.9 billion.