Biden's aid call for Kyiv sparks outcry

US President Joe Biden is seeking the biggest package yet of military and other aid to Ukraine, with a request to Congress on Thursday to send the Eastern European nation $33 billion, raising the stakes in its conflict with Russia. But analysts fear the increasingly growing military assistance will not do any good but escalate tension on the Ukraine crisis.

The latest proposal, which includes more than $20 billion for weapons, ammunition and other military assistance, drew heated debate on social media. The package also includes $8.5 billion in direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government and $3 billion in humanitarian aid.

The $20 billion in US military assistance is about a third of Russia's defense budget last year.

Just a week ago, Biden announced that the United States would provide Ukraine with an additional package of security assistance worth $800 million, the eighth batch of such aid since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out on Feb 24.

If the latest White House package is approved, overall aid to Ukraine will reach $46.6 billion.

"It is clear that the West is interested in prolonging the conflict as much as possible in order to inflict maximum damage on Russia," said Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Suslov said the West aims to deplete Russia's military resources, hurt its economy and weaken the country politically.

Kyryl Molchanov, deputy director of the think tank Ukrainian Institute of Politics, said it is difficult to completely isolate Russia since it has vast land with rich natural resources.

The US' latest round of monetary assistance also generated vociferous reactions on Thursday, highlighting domestic woes.

"Now $33 billion more to fuel the war in Ukraine. Given the predictions/hopes of US officials that this will last years, not months, it's hard to see any end to this cash drain to Raytheon and friends," wrote journalist Glenn Greenwald on Twitter. "And that's all independent of the escalation risks. Which Americans benefit?"

"I've got veterans lined up outside my food bank waiting for peanut butter right now and y'all wanna send $33 BILLION more to Zelenskyy," tweeted Lavern Spicer, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida.

"Forget about cancelling student debt, Biden wants $33 Billion more to fund a NATO war against Russia," educator Manolo De Los Santos tweeted.

"The economy just contracted by almost 2%, inflation is at a 40 year high and the border is wide open. What did Biden do today to address these issues? He is demanding congress provide UKRAINE an additional $33 billion of your tax dollars," tweeted author George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to Donald Trump.

Massive military supplies from the West, including many portable smaller weapon systems, have raised public concerns over a dangerous proliferation of arms across Europe.

In a recent article titled What happens to weapons sent to Ukraine? The US doesn't really know, CNN reported that the US has few ways to track its weaponry delivered to Ukraine.

On Friday, the Kremlin said the proposal by Biden to allow US officials to seize Russian assets and use the funds to support Ukraine would amount to illegal expropriation. The proposal would let US officials seize more Russian oligarchs' assets, give the cash from those seizures to Ukraine, and further criminalize sanctions dodging.

Russia has over $600 billion worth of foreign currency reserves held in dollars, gold and other currencies, with about half of them believed to be frozen by the restrictions imposed by Western governments on its central bank.

The head of Russia's central bank has said it was preparing to take legal action to challenge the freeze.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.

hengweili@chinadailyusa.com