U.S. Republican Congressman Joe Wilson announced his plan to introduce the Freedom First Lend-Lease Act to Congress, on Feb. 10.
Reauthorizing this program would grant U.S. President Donald Trump the authority to send Ukraine weapons through lend-lease.
Wilson argued that this initiative would help deter "War Criminal (Vladimir) Putin" and he claimed that former U.S. President Joe Biden should have taken similar action earlier.
“Bring Russia to the table through American strength,” Wilson wrote on X.
Currently, details about the bill remain unclear, including whether it has support from other members of Congress.
The $895 billion U.S. defense bill passed by Congress in Dec. 2024 did not include a provision to extend the lend-lease act for Ukraine.
The U.S. passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act in May 2022, but it expired in September 2023 without ever being used.
Ukrainian diplomats have been lobbying for its reintroduction as it allows the U.S. president to loan or lease arms to Ukraine while cutting through congressional red tape.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
