The United States Senate approved this Thursday (19) with a vast majority a package of US$ 40 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine to face the war triggered by the Russian invasion of its territory.
The measure, which was endorsed by 86 senators voting in favor – only 11 voted against – and which had already been previously approved by the House of Representatives, will soon be signed by President Joe Biden to take effect.
The funds approved by Congress are even greater than the $33 billion Biden had requested in April from lawmakers to support Kyiv in the war against Moscow.
“With this approval, the Senate can tell the Ukrainian people that help is on the way. Important help, help that can help Ukrainians emerge victorious,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schummer.
For his part, the leader of the Republicans, Mitch McConnell, said that aid to Ukraine “is much more than charity”, as “US security and its main strategic interests will be determined by the outcome of this fight”.
Last Saturday (14), McConnell, Senator for the State of Kentucky, and three other Republican senators, Susan Collins (of Maine), John Barrasso (of Wyoming) and John Cornyn (of Texas), visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kyiv, in a show of solidarity with the country.
In an Instagram post, Zelensky said the visit represented “a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine on the part of the US Congress and the American people”.
The package was supported by all but 11 Democratic senators and nearly all Republican senators.
The same package had been approved last week by the House of Representatives, with 368 votes in favor and 57 against.
The approval of that $40 billion comes as the government is about to run out of the $13.6 billion in aid that Congress passed in March after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
The new package provides for the shipment of weapons and ammunition, although it also includes direct economic assistance and humanitarian aid, such as the shipment of food.
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