In the face of Russia’s advancing invasion force and Kyiv’s shortage of military supplies, a massive foreign aid package easily passed the US Congress late on Tuesday after months of delay.
The Senate approved four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday by a vote of 79 to 18, after House Republican leaders abruptly changed course last week and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in aid, mostly military, for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and US allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Senate merged the four legislation into a single package, which President Joe Biden promised to sign into law on Wednesday.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, expressed gratitude to US senators for authorizing “vital” help.
“This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world,” Zelenskiy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The largest gives Ukraine the desperately needed $61 billion in cash; the second gives Israel $26 billion and humanitarian aid for civilians in war areas worldwide; and the third gives $8.12 billion in mandates to “counter communist China” in the Indo-Pacific.
A fourth, which the House included in the package last week, calls for fresh penalties on Iran, steps to transfer confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine, and a possible ban on the Chinese-controlled social media app TikTok.
According to two US officials who spoke to Reuters, Biden’s administration is already working on a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, the first to come from the bill. Along with other weapons that can be used on the battlefield right away, it also includes vehicles, Javelin and TOW anti-tank munitions, extra ammo for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, 155 millimeter artillery ammunition, and Stinger air defense missiles.
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate forecast that Congress had turned the corner in warning global foes like Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington will keep backing Ukraine and other allies.
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