On Thursday, the United States Senate easily approved over $40 billion in fresh aid for Ukraine, sending the package to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature as Washington scrambles to keep military help coming nearly three months after Russia’s incursion, Reuters reported.
The Senate approved the emergency military aid for Ukraine, in addition to economic, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine by a vote of 86-11, making it the largest US aid package for the nation to date. Republicans cast all 11 no votes.
The overwhelming bipartisan backing showed legislators’ determination to help Ukraine’s war effort without committing U.S. soldiers, including most Republicans and Biden’s Democratic colleagues.
The adoption of the budget package, according to Biden, insured that US money for Ukraine would not expire.
The funding package was approved by the House of Representatives on May 10 with every Republican voting against it. It came to a halt in the Senate when Republican Senator Rand Paul denied a speedy vote. Although Biden’s Democratic colleagues hold a slim majority in both the House and the Senate, Senate procedures require unanimous approval to move rapidly to a final vote on most bills.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed Congress to act fast, informing congressional leaders in a letter that the military only had the cash to transfer weaponry to Kyiv until Thursday, May 19, and that the measure passed barely before that deadline.
When Biden puts the supplementary budget measure into law, the total amount of US assistance granted for Ukraine since the Russian operation started on February 24 would be well over $50 billion.
Some $6 billion will go into military aid, including training, equipment, firearms, and support; $8.7 billion will go toward replenishing US assets supplied to Ukraine, and $3.9 billion will go toward European Command activities.
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