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The announcement was made as Harris attended a Ukraine peace
summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she was to meet Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and address the summit's plenary
session.
The $1.5 billion includes $500 million in new funding for energy
assistance and the redirecting of $324 million in previously
announced funds toward emergency energy infrastructure repair
and other needs in Ukraine, the vice president's office said.
"These efforts will help Ukraine respond to Russia’s latest
attacks on Ukraine energy infrastructure by supporting repair
and recovery, improving Ukraine’s resilience to energy supply
disruptions, and laying the groundwork to repair and expand
Ukraine’s energy system," Harris' office said.
She also announced more than $379 million in humanitarian
assistance from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for
International Development to help refugees and other people
impacted by the war.
The money is to cover food assistance, health services, shelter,
and water, sanitation and hygiene services for millions of
Ukrainians.
Harris, who will spend less than 24 hours at the gathering in
Lucerne, Switzerland, will be standing in for President Joe
Biden at the event. The president will be just ending his
participation at the G7 summit in Italy and returning to the
United States to attend a fundraiser for his reelection campaign
in Los Angeles.
Harris will meet with Zelenskiy and address the summit's plenary
session. Biden met with Zelenskiy both at the G7 summit, where
they signed a U.S.-Ukraine bilateral security agreement, and in
France for events surrounding the 80th anniversary of the World
War Two D-Day invasion.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will
represent the United States at the summit on Sunday and help
establish working groups on returning Ukrainian children from
Russia and on energy security.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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