US President Joe Biden has signed a massive $768 billion defense package into law, approving an overall increase in military spending while setting aside billions for security initiatives aimed at confronting Moscow and Beijing.
Biden signed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday, marking a $25 billion increase over the president’s original proposal and authorizing a 5% boost in US military spending over the prior year.
The vast spending package includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which, according to supporters in the Senate, will be used to train and equip Ukrainian forces to defend against alleged “Russian aggression.” Another $150 million was earmarked for “Baltic security cooperation” – another project aimed at deterring Moscow – while a larger sum of $4 billion will be spent on the European Defense Initiative, meant to bolster Washington’s NATO allies.