Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Ukraine’s about the economy, stupid

Sep 21, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits President Joe Biden at the White House. Zelenskyy is slated to pitch to lawmakers and President Biden on continuing aid to Ukraine as it battles in an ongoing war from the invasion by Russia.

Sep 21, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits President Joe Biden at the White House. Zelenskyy is slated to pitch to lawmakers and President Biden on continuing aid to Ukraine as it battles in an ongoing war from the invasion by Russia.

USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters
Make us preferred on Google

Over the past 20 months, Joe Biden has framed US backing for Ukraine as, variously, a struggle for the future of freedom, as a deterrent against Chinese designs on Taiwan, and even as part of a fight to tame inflation.

But as polls show waning interest among US voters for sending weapons to Ukraine, the White House is taking a different tack: job creation?


The US has sent more than $40 billion in weapons to Kyiv, and last week the White House asked Congress for $60 billion more in Ukraine aid, about half of which would be for arms.

The Biden administration is now pushing lawmakers to make the case that this money boosts employment: After all, when Washington sends weapons to Ukraine, they’re made in US factories. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News that Ukraine aid had created jobs in 38 states.

Earlier this year, reports suggested that the US arms industry, which accounts for 10% of all US factory output, was having trouble finding enough labor to meet the surge in demand.

The White House’s shift in messaging comes as a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows just 41% of Americans support sending weapons to Ukraine, down five points since May.

More For You

An electronic board displays that the secondary market yield on newly issued 10-year government bonds has risen to 3.000 percent, in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan.

An electronic board displays that the secondary market yield on newly issued 10-year government bonds has risen to 3.000 percent, in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan, on September 1, 2026.

Taketo Oishi / The Yomiuri Shimbun via Reuters Connect
Global bond-fire rages as investors fret about inflationInvestors around the world are selling off government bonds amid concerns about rising inflation and unsustainable spending by some large economies. The yield on 10-year bonds issued by Japan, for example, has reached its highest level in 30 years as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushes a new [...]
Oil workers drilling a well in an oil field, Venezuela.

Oil workers drilling a well in an oil field, Venezuela.

REUTERS/Science Photo Library
US strikes controversial Venezuela oil dealThe US government will take a majority stake in a new company that has the rights to develop 65 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, or about one-fifth of the country’s total proven reserves. The deal aims to secure massive investment in the dilapidated Venezuelan oil industry, boost US energy security, [...]
People hold a sign that reads "No" during a rally of the "No to EU" campaign ahead of a referendum on whether Iceland should resume accession negotiations with the European Union, in Reykjavik, Iceland.

People hold a sign that reads "No" during a rally of the "No to EU" campaign ahead of a referendum on whether Iceland should resume accession negotiations with the European Union, in Reykjavik, Iceland, August 27, 2026.

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Iceland votes on restarting EU accession talks Polls remain tight as Iceland holds a referendum tomorrow on whether to restart EU accession talks. Membership has long been a divisive topic on the island, which gained independence from Denmark in 1944 and remains fiercely protective of its sovereignty. During previous talks, the bloc’s fisheries [...]
A damaged section of a highway in Nuwakot, central Nepal

A damaged section of a highway in Nuwakot, central Nepal, is seen on August 27, 2026, following an outburst of a glacial lake in Tibet.

Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto
Catastrophic flooding in Nepal tests its young, new leaderA massive wall of mud and rock crashed into a river along Nepal’s Himalayan border with Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding that swept away bridges, destroyed buildings, and swamped roads. Over 300 people were killed, and over 1,000 remain missing – including hundreds of [...]