Passage of the money is an unusually bipartisan move for harshly divided Washington. “Aid for Ukraine goes far beyond charity,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
“The future of American security and core strategic interests will be shaped by the outcome of this fight,” he added, hours before Congress upper chamber was expected to vote through the package easily.
– Continuity of government –
Contained in the bundle is $6 billion earmarked to allow Ukraine to boost its armored vehicle inventory and air defense system.
Nearly $9 billion is set aside to help with Ukrainian “continuity of government,” among other items, including humanitarian aid.
Congress already approved almost $14 billion for Ukraine in mid-March, only weeks after Russia s invasion.
But as fighting has shifted away from the capital and to the eastern and southern parts of the country, Biden has been calling for another round of financial support for weeks.
The US president has often repeated his desire to lead in what he depicts as a great struggle of democracy against authoritarianism. But funds already designated for Ukraine support were about to run out, he said.
The US House of Representatives already approved the $40 billion package — the equivalent to the 2020 GDP of Cameroon — last week.
