Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
Lend-Lease
AI-generated illustration
LegislationUS

Lend-Lease

US programme from March 1941 supplying weapons and goods to Allied powers.

Lend-Lease was the US programme, enacted on 11 March 1941, that supplied about $50.1bn of weapons, food and fuel to Allied powers in kind. Ukraine's 2027 draft budget, sent to Parliament on 15 September 2026, expects at least 1tn hryvnias of weapons in kind.

Last refreshed: 12 October 2026

Timeline for Lend-Lease

#28 15 Sept
View full timeline →

Background

Lend-Lease was the US programme created by the Act of 11 March 1941, "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It supplied weapons, food and fuel to Allied powers in kind rather than for cash.

Aid under it totalled about $50.1bn. The United Kingdom received about $31.4bn and the Soviet Union about $11.3bn, making them the two largest recipients.

Lend-Lease is the template for war budgets that depend on allies' goods rather than their money. Ukraine's 2027 draft gives defence 4.885tn hryvnias, which Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi put at nearly 44% of economic output, and expects partners to ADD at least 1tn hryvnias of weapons in kind.

Common Questions
What was Lend-Lease?
A US programme under an Act of 11 March 1941 that supplied weapons, food and fuel to Allied powers in kind.Source: Wikipedia
How much Lend-Lease aid did Britain and the Soviet Union get?
Of about $50.1bn in total, the UK received about $31.4bn and the Soviet Union about $11.3bn.Source: Wikipedia
Why is Lend-Lease compared to aid for Ukraine?
Ukraine's 2027 budget relies on at least 1tn hryvnias of weapons aid in kind, as Britain relied on American goods from 1941.Source: Lowdown
Source Material