Current:Home > NewsUS offers Poland rare loan of $2 billion to modernize its military -PrimeFinance
US offers Poland rare loan of $2 billion to modernize its military
View
Date:2025-04-17 05:47:25
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Monday that it is offering a $2 billion loan to Poland, which has been a hub for weapons going into Ukraine, to support the ally’s defense modernization.
The State Department said in a statement that Poland is a “stalwart” ally of the U.S. whose “security is vital to the collective defense” of NATO ’s eastern flank, and that such funding is reserved for Washington’s most important security partners.
The U.S. government is also providing Warsaw up to $60 million for the cost of the loan in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) which would support “urgent procurements of defense articles and services from the United States,” the State Department said. The $60 million is a loan subsidy meant to ensure that Warsaw can secure favorable terms for the loan.
Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, handing over large numbers of its own tanks, fighter jets and other equipment. It has also been a hub for most of the Western weapons going to Ukraine.
It has been undergoing a process of modernization to replace what it gave away, much of which was based on old Soviet technology, putting in orders with U.S. and South Korean defense companies.
Recently the Polish-Ukrainian relationship has seen strains due to a trade dispute centered on Ukrainian grain entering the Polish market and driving down the prices Polish farmers can get. Amid the spat Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country was no longer sending any more weapons to Ukraine.
The comment created some confusion. Analysts noted that Poland has already in fact given Ukraine most of what it has to give, and the statement was made ahead of a Polish election and did not mean much. But it also raised concerns that Western support for Ukraine could be weakening.
U.S. officials have sought to play down the spat, praising Poland’s role in helping Ukraine and noting that it is in Poland’s strategic interest for Ukraine to prevail against Russia.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Aaron Judge returns to Yankees’ lineup against Orioles, two days after getting hit on hand by pitch
- Two environmental protesters arrested after spraying Stonehenge with orange paint
- Rapper Travis Scott arrested in Miami Beach for misdemeanor trespassing and public intoxication
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Texas court finds Kerry Max Cook innocent of 1977 murder, ending decades-long quest for exoneration
- 135 million Americans now sweltering in unrelenting heat wave
- IVF costs put the fertility treatment out of reach for many Americans: I don't think it's fair
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- 'Be good': My dad and ET shared last words I'll never forget
Ranking
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Wife of Toronto gunman says two victims allegedly defrauded family of life savings
- How to change Siri and Alexa's voice: Switch up how your Google assistant talks
- TikTok unveils interactive Taylor Swift feature ahead of London Eras Tour shows
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- How Rickwood Field was renovated for historic MLB game: 'We maintained the magic'
- A US veteran died at a nursing home, abandoned. Hundreds of strangers came to say goodbye
- Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms churns old political conflicts
Recommendation
Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
Stonehenge sprayed with orange paint by Just Stop Oil activists demanding U.K. phase out fossil fuels
Ferrari has plans to sell an electric vehicle. The cost? More than $500,000.
MLB game at Rickwood Field has 'spiritual component' after Willie Mays' death
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Freed Israeli hostage recounts ordeal in Gaza, where she says she was held in a hospital and civilian homes
What Lindsay Hubbard Did With Her 3 Wedding Dresses After Carl Radke Breakup
A deadly bacterial infection is spreading in Japan. Here's what to know about causes and prevention.