Two US senators have introduced a bill to the upper house of Congress that would allocate more than $1.8 billion to rebuild Ukraine's energy sector.
Source. This was reported by the Voice of America.
In a statement, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez says the bill is aimed at "attracting American investment in Ukraine's energy infrastructure and strengthening energy security in Eastern Europe."
It provides for "assistance in the restoration and modernization of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as well as investment and technical assistance in Europe and Southeast Europe to reduce the region's dependence on russian energy resources."
The initiative was developed by Menendez and Senator Jim Risch, the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.
They propose to allocate a total of $1.88 billion for these purposes through the State Department and the US Agency for International Development.
More than $1 billion of this amount is to be used to "support the restoration, security, and modernization of Ukraine's energy sector" and at least $500 million to "reduce the dependence of Eastern European countries on russian energy supplies."
Background. In late June, it was reported that, according to a Reuters poll, the number of Americans who supported the provision of weapons to Ukraine had increased by 20%.