US Senate approves military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

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The United States Senate approved on Tuesday, after months of impasse, a global package of 95 billion dollars, around 90 billion euros, to support Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel.

The upper house of the US Congress approved the package by a majority of 79 votes against 18. The majority of the funds are destined for Ukraine: 61 billion dollars for Kiev – around 57 billion euros – which could be shipped later this week.

The package includes ammunition, namely air defense and artillery ammunition, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons that had been requested by Ukraine.

“Today, the Senate sends a message of unity to the entire world: America will always defend democracy in its time of need,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “Make no mistake, America will fulfill its promise to act as a leader on the world stage, to hold the line against autocratic thugs like Vladimir Putin,” he continued. “We are showing Putin that betting against America is always, always a very serious mistake,” Schumer added.

On Monday, Biden spoke on the phone with Zelenskyy and informed the Ukrainian president that he would move quickly to send the necessary aid to Ukraine as soon as the bill passed the Senate.

In a statement, after the green light from the Senate, with a Democratic majority, the US president revealed that the US would “start sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week”.

“I will sign this bill and speak to the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so that we can send weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week. The need is urgent: for Ukraine, which faces relentless bombing from Russia; to Israel, which has just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; to refugees and those affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including Gaza, Sudan and Haiti; and to our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific; “, reads the statement released by the North American President.

“This critical legislation will make our nation and the world safer as we stand with our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin,” Biden’s statement concluded.