The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 was an act of the

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that facilitated the supply of

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

to the Ukrainian government in a manner similar to the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Lend-Lease Act Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),

in response to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act expired in September 2023, without being used.

Provisions

The full title of the act is "An act to provide enhanced authority for the President to enter into agreements with the Government of Ukraine to lend or lease defense articles to that Government to protect civilian populations in Ukraine from Russian military invasion, and for other purposes." The legislation reduces

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on exports of defense equipment from the United States to Ukraine, in order to ensure that the equipment is delivered promptly. It is applicable to fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The legislation is named in reference to the

era

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

program that supplied US allies in the fight against the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

and is credited with being a deciding factor in the war.

Passage of legislation

President Joe Biden Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022

The bill was passed unanimously in the

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on April 6, 2022, and passed in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

by a vote of 417–10 on April 28, 2022. The ten representatives, all from the Republican Party, who voted against the bill were:

Andy Biggs Andrew Steven Biggs (born November 7, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district, which was once represented by U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, is in the he ...

of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina,

Warren Davidson Warren Earl Davidson (born March 1, 1970) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district since 2016. The district includes a s ...

of Ohio,

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of Florida,

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of Arizona,

Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene ( Taylor; born May 27, 1974), sometimes referred to by her initials MTG, is an American far-rightSources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * * * politician, businesswoman, and cons ...

of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky,

Ralph Norman Ralph Warren Norman Jr. (born June 20, 1953) is an American real estate developer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan ...

of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin. President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

signed the bill into law on May 9, 2022, Soviet

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, a date which was seen as a "rejoinder to Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, who has seized on Victory in Europe Day – the anniversary of Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945 and Russia's biggest patriotic holiday – to rally his people behind the invasion."

Text

Lack of use and 2023 expiry

Ukrainian diplomats lobbied for extension of the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act beyond 2023, but it expired on September 30 2023. No weapons were ever delivered to Ukraine under the terms of the act. Instead, three other American budget programs were used to supply materiel to Ukraine: the

Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative or USAI is a United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense-led funding program to increase Ukraine's capacity to defend itself more effectively against Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian aggressi ...

Foreign Military Financing The United States Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program provides grants and loans to friendly foreign governments to fund the purchase of American weapons, defense equipment, services and training. The program was established through the 1976 ...

, and Presidential Drawdown Authority.

References

External links

Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022PDF
as enacted in the US Statutes at Large
S.3522 Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022
on

Congress.gov Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office. Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, and ...