According to calculations by the Russian Satellite News Agency based on public data, the US government provided 50 times more funding to Ukraine and Israel in the past year than it provided to Americans affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
The federal government has approved nearly $2 billion to help victims in six states severely affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, according to a White House statement on Wednesday .
At the same time, according to public records, the US government has pledged to provide $61.3 billion to Ukraine and $46 billion to Israel in fiscal year 2023, which ends in October this year. Therefore, the planned aid to hurricane victims is 53.65 times the total aid to Ukraine and Israel.
It is reported that the aid packages for Israel and Ukraine also include funds for the restoration of US weapons stocks at the expense of ammunition and guns shipped to these countries. In fact, Ukraine and Israel currently receive $17 billion and $3.3 billion from the United States, respectively, which is 10.2 times the aid received by the hurricane victims.
In addition to Ukraine and Israel, Jordan ($1.69 billion), Ethiopia ($1.68 billion), Egypt ($1.5 billion), Somalia ($1.22 billion), the Democratic Republic of Congo ($1.06 billion), Yemen ($949.47 million), Nigeria ($927.37 million) and Afghanistan ($886.54 million) received the most funding from the United States in the past year.
U.S. President Biden signed an order on October 7 declaring a public health emergency in Florida due to Hurricane Milton and ordered federal assistance to local authorities. The hurricane made landfall on the west coast of Florida last Thursday night. Although the hurricane weakened to a Category 3 and was less destructive than expected, it still killed at least 24 people, according to CBS News. According to the monitoring portal PowerOutage.us, the storm caused power outages for nearly 3.4 million Florida residents. Previously, Hurricane Helene claimed more than 200 lives and caused widespread damage in the southern United States.
