https://www.cbsnews.com/news/following-american-money-in-ukraine-60-minutes

60 MINUTES OVERTIME In Ukraine, U.S. tax dollars are funding more than just military aid

As the war in Ukraine grinds toward its third year, America has provided more than $70 billion in aid, with billions going not just toward the military, but also to help farmers, subsidize small businesses and pay the country's first responders.

The bulk of America's contribution to Ukraine has gone toward military aid. American rocket launchers are now reaching deep into Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

The war has also impacted Ukraine's financial standing, with the country's economy contracting by an estimated 31% last year, according to the United States Agency for International Development.

The U.S. government is subsidizing small businesses in Ukraine, including Tatiana Abramova's knitwear company, to keep them afloat.

American officials from USAID helped Abramova find new customers overseas. In the midst of war, her company is supporting over 70 families.

The U.S. government has also bought seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers. America is covering the salaries of Ukraine's first responders, all 57,000 of them.

A report from the Pentagon's Inspector General last year found the U.S. government was unable to monitor weapons transfers in the early months of the war, in part because the American embassy's staff was evacuated. Criminal groups in Ukraine stole some weapons and equipment from the country's military, though they were later recovered by Ukrainian intelligence services.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren was recently in Kyiv, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Lindsey Graham, to monitor the situation.

"We have to have confidence that the dollars we're spending are actually being spent in defense of the nation," Warren said. "All of that is important. But that's why we're here."

The senators, and other U.S. officials, told 60 Minutes there have been no substantiated cases of American weapons being diverted.

Americans face their own financial challenges and many question if the country should be sending so much money overseas. Sen. Graham feels it's some of the best money the U.S. has ever spent.

"Here's what we've gotten for our investment. We haven't lost one soldier. We reduced the combat power of the Russian army by 50%, and not one of us has died in that endeavor," Graham said. "This is a great deal for America."

The outcome of the war may be decided by America's willingness to keep paying. Lieutenant Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a father of two who enlisted on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, pointed to the cost for Ukrainians.

"Ukrainians pay with their lives," he said. "And I believe and I hope that their lives cost much more than money, much more than taxpayers' money."