Green light from the Senate. Aid package for Ukraine awaits Biden’s signature

Joe Biden has already revealed that he would sign the bill, which had been approved days before in the House of Representatives, as soon as possible.

“I will sign this bill and address the American people as soon as it gets to my desk” on Wednesday, “so we can start sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.”said Biden.

The upper house of the US Congress approved on Tuesday night, by a majority of 79 votes against 18, a global package of 95 billion dollars (around 90 billion euros) to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan .
O Congress responded “to the call of history” with this bill, which aims to “strengthen national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership”, adds the document.

“A bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House [dos Representantes, a câmara baixa, de maioria republicana] to answer the call of history at this critical inflection point,” Biden said.

On social media, his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he was “grateful to the US Senate for approving vital aid for Ukraine.”

The package includes the shipment of ammunition, including air defense and artillery ammunition, requested by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weaponry.
US military aid to Ukraine, which was suspended several weeks ago, is expected to resume “in the coming days”, said a Pentagon spokesperson on Tuesday.

The adoption of this aid plan is a relief for the Ukrainian army, which is facing a shortage of new recruits and ammunition in the face of constant pressure from Russian troops in the east.

The United States is Kiev’s main military backer, but Congress has not approved a major aid package for its ally for almost a year and a half, mainly due to partisan disputes.

Biden and the Democratic Party remained in favor of this aid, which they consider an investment in the security of the United States in the face of Russia’s aggressive ambitions.

The approval followed weeks of high-tension debate between Republicans and Democrats and even within the Republican Party, where a radical faction close to former President Donald Trump even threatens to try to remove the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, accusing -of being an accomplice of the White House.

However, the Republican leader in Congress ended up supporting the return of military and economic aid to Kiev, with the following justification: “I would rather send ammunition to Ukraine than send our young people to fight”.

This aid plan also authorizes the US president to confiscate and sell Russian assets so that they can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. An idea that is gaining ground among other G7 countries.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the US has sent more than 44 billion dollars (about 41 billion euros) in weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

For most of that time, aid packages were transferred over a period of a few weeks, but money began to run out from last September.

In mid-December, the Pentagon reported that it had run out of aid funds to Kiev and had to stop sending weapons because, without authorization from Congress, it was unable to provide such support.Israel, Taiwan and TikTok
The plan approved by the Senate includes several billion dollars in new military aid to Israel, which is at war with Hamas, despite concerns from the international community about the fate of civilians in Gaza.

These funds will be used, in particular, to reinforce Israel’s anti-missile shield, known as Iron Domeor “iron dome”.

More than nine billion dollars was also allocated to meet the “urgent need for humanitarian assistance” for “vulnerable populations around the world”, namely in Gaza and Sudan.

As Biden had requested, the bill allocates eight billion dollars to confront China on the military front, investing in submarines, and to help Taiwan.

It also provides for a ban on TikTok in the United States, unless the social network cuts its ties with its parent company ByteDance and, more generally, with China.

The video platform is accused of allowing Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States. However, it is likely that its eventual ban will be challenged in court.

w/agencies