In an announcement put forth this past Thursday, the White House stated that the U.S. is planning to take in up to 100,000 Ukrainians trying to get away from the encroaching Russian invasion forces, all while President Joe Biden takes time to meet with world leaders at a summit in Europe.
This new report comes in as a total of over 10 million Ukrainians have been pushed from their homes since the inception of the war back on the 24th of February, this includes 3.5 million people who have outright left the country.
“While we expect many Ukrainians will choose to remain in Europe close to family and their homes in Ukraine, today, the United States is announcing plans to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression through the full range of legal pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program,” stated the announcement from the Biden administration.
“In particular, we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States. The United States and the European Union are also coordinating closely to ensure that these efforts, and other forms of humanitarian admission or transfers, are complementary and provide much-needed support to Ukraine’s neighbors,” continued the statement.
This release also came alongside the news that the U.S. is slated to provide well over $1 billion in additional funds seeking to meet humanitarian needs for those still in Ukraine.
“This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance. We are also announcing an additional $320 million in democracy and human rights funding to Ukraine and its neighbors,” read the statement.
This new refugee resettlement plan rides in the wake of Biden implementing the nation’s largest refugee resettlement effort since the Vietnam War and multiple thousands of Afghans were brought into the country as American military forces made their way out of Afghanistan.
Roughly 80,000 Afghans have been officially resettled within the U.S. as part of this program, as reported by Reuters.
Reuters went on to state that “the United States would welcome Ukrainians fleeing war, but administration officials have said they believe most will want to stay in Europe where they can travel visa-free and have family and friends.”
NATO leaders met today in Brussels — one month since the start of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine with security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right of self-defense. pic.twitter.com/F582A9qDJw
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 24, 2022
All of this takes place as Biden holds multiple meetings with the allied world leaders in Brussels in regards to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the war enters its second month of fighting.