[News] Congress clears $95bn aid package for Ukraine and Israel

[Wolf.17]

 

The US Senate has approved a $95bn (£76bn) foreign aid package that includes military support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.

The Senate on Tuesday evening backed the measure passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday.

It includes $61bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation "within days".

It passed in a bipartisan vote of 79-18.

Mr Biden hailed its passage in a statement late on Tuesday, calling it "critical legislation [that] will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin".

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: "After more than six months of hard work and many twists and turns in the road, America sends a message to the entire world: we will not turn our back on you."

The Senate had passed a similar aid package in February, but a group of conservatives who oppose new Ukraine support had prevented it from coming to a vote in the House of Representatives.

Last week, Democrats and Republicans in the lower chamber joined together to bypass this opposition.

They ultimately agreed to a package bill that included the foreign aid as well as legislation to confiscate Russian assets held by Western banks; new sanctions on Russia, Iran and China; and a provision that will force the Chinese company ByteDance to sell the po[CENSORED]r social media service TikTok.

The package is expected to provide a significant boost to Ukraine's forces, which have suffered from a shortage of ammunition and air defence systems in recent months.

Reacting to the vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it "reinforces America's role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world".

On Tuesday, Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, faced the latest in a series of recent drone and missile strikes, with authorities saying two people in a residential neighbourhood were injured.

The commander of Ukraine's National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, said he was expecting an attempt by Russian forces to advance on the city near the two countries' border.

In the House on Saturday, a majority of Republicans in the chamber voted against the foreign aid package.

The bill also faced resistance among a handful of Senate Republicans who opposed any new aid to Ukraine.

Fifteen voted with two Democrats - as well as independent Senator Bernie Sanders who objected to providing new offensive weapons to Israel - against the bill.

"Pouring more money into Ukraine's coffers will only prolong the conflict and lead to more loss of life," Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said in remarks on Tuesday.

"No one at the White House, the Pentagon, or the state department can articulate what victory looks like in this fight."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68885868