# Understanding the SUPPORT Act

This bill establishes a clear U.S. policy to support Ukraine if Russia invades it. Essentially, Congress is saying that if Russia attacks Ukraine, the United States will help Ukrainian fighters resist the invasion by providing weapons, supplies, intelligence information, and other military support. The goal is to make any Russian invasion so costly and difficult that it discourages Russia from attempting it in the first place.

The bill requires the Defense Department to create a detailed plan within 30 days explaining exactly how the U.S. would provide this support. This plan would cover what weapons and equipment would be sent, how much money would be spent, how the supplies would get into Ukraine, and which allied countries might help. The plan can be kept secret if needed, but Congress wants at least a public summary of the main points so lawmakers understand what's being proposed.

The bill also asks U.S. intelligence agencies to study Russia's "gray zone assets"—basically, companies and organizations that Russia controls or uses to advance its interests without directly using its military. The intelligence community needs to figure out which of these assets could be targeted or seized to pressure Russia and discourage aggressive behavior. This assessment has to consider the impact on regular people, how likely it is to actually change Russia's behavior, and whether it would help protect Ukraine and other countries from Russian aggression.

In practical terms, this bill is Congress's way of saying that supporting Ukraine's defense is important to American national security, and it's telling the military and intelligence agencies to be ready with concrete plans to back that up if an invasion happens.

SUPPORT Act

Supplying Ukraine with Provisions to Protect against Ongoing Russian Threats Act or the SUPPORT Act This bill states that it is U.S. policy to take necessary and appropriate steps to support Ukraine's efforts to reassert control of its territory and defend its sovereignty in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, including by providing lethal and nonlethal assistance and sharing intelligence. The bill also requires the Department of Defense to report to Congress a plan for providing such support to a Ukrainian insurgency. The National Intelligence Council must produce an intelligence community assessment relating to Russia's gray zone activities and assets. (Under this bill, a gray zone activity is an activity to advance a foreign state's interests that (1) falls between ordinary statecraft and open warfare, (2) is designed to maximize the advancement of such interests without provoking a U.S. kinetic military response, and (3) falls on a spectrum ranging from covert adversary operations to open adversary operations.