The US House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 (NDAA). However, the document does not contain a provision for extending Lend-Lease for Ukraine.
This was reported by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova.
The House of Representatives did not support Lend-Lease for Ukraine in 2025
According to Markarova, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 (NDAA) was supported by 281 congressmen. However, 140 legislators voted against it (16 Republicans and 124 Democrats). The US Senate is expected to approve the bill next week.
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As the Ukrainian ambassador to the US explained, this year the document does not include funds for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, since funding for it for 2025 was included in last year's law in the amount of $300 million.
At the same time, the adopted document does not contain a provision on extending the Lend-Lease Act to protect democracy in Ukraine.
– It should be noted that this year's NDAA bill approved by the Senate contained a provision on extending the Lend-Lease Act to protect democracy in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States actively advocated for it. However, the bill approved by the House of Representatives did not contain such a provision. The corresponding provision is not included in the consolidated text of the bill, noted Oksana Markarova.
The main provisions of the document regarding Ukraine
Article 1303 continues the ban on the use of any funds for actions that could lead to recognition of Russia's sovereignty over the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine;
Article 1534Directs the Secretary of Defense to explore the feasibility of establishing a center of excellence to support the development and improvement of artificial intelligence-based weapons systems.
The functions of such a center would include facilitating Pentagon cooperation with foreign partners, including Ukraine, to identify best practices, guidelines, standards, and benchmarks.
Section 6411 directs the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Judiciary, Financial Affairs, and Appropriations a report on the financing of acts of international terrorism by the Russian Federation. The report is unclassified, but may contain classified appendices.
House of Representatives approves 2025 defense budget: what is known
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives approved the 2025 defense budget bill in the amount of $883.7 billion.
According to the bill, the Pentagon will receive funding in the amount of $883.7 billion next year. These funds will be used to pay the military, manufacture 200 aircraft and 300 military transport units.
In particular, part of the funds will be used to create a special fund for Taiwan, similar to the initiative for Ukraine, which allows the United States to send weapons to the country by purchasing them directly from private manufacturers.
The Senate is expected to consider the budget as early as next week. According to The Hill, the defense budget should be approved by the end of this month.
