After an EU summit secured €50 billion in aid for Ukraine, overcoming Hungary’s opposition, the US Senate announced its upcoming long-expected vote on Ukraine aid.
The US has been Ukraine’s biggest financial supporter amid Russia’s invasion, yet the Pentagon has depleted Ukraine aid funds by the end of 2023, while the US Congressional Republicans have been stalling the approval of new aid funding for months. The lack of military aid degrades Ukraine’s military capabilities, benefitting Russia.
Sky News reports that the US Senate is set to vote on a bill that allocates funding for Ukraine, Israel, and US border security “before next Thursday,” 9 February.
“We cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because the task is difficult,” said Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat.
In October 2023, Biden submitted a request to Congress for additional funding to address national defense requirements, totaling $106 billion in aid to Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region, and for boosting US border security. The package includes a provision to allocate a minimum of $61.4 billion for military and economic assistance to Ukraine. However, the package has still been rejected by the Republican-controlled House.
On 29 January, US auditors visited Kyiv to review the spending of American military assistance to Ukraine, as no violations have been identified previously, and the Pentagon continued to ensure US taxpayer funds were used appropriately.
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