The US Senate has passed a 95 billion US dollar bill including military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with strong bipartisan support, 79 to 18 votes on Tuesday, the 23rd of April, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation on Wednesday, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
In the end, the Senate also agreed on measures to seize Russian assets in Western banks, impose new sanctions on Russia, Iran and China and passed a bill that could ban the popular social media platform TikTok in the US.
The package includes 61 billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine, which the Pentagon said could be delivered “within days”.
Biden welcomed the bill’s passage in a late-night statement on Tuesday,
calling it “very important legislation [that] will make our country and the world safer by supporting our friends who are defending against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was quoted: “After more than six months of hard work and many twists and turns, America is sending a message to the world: we will not turn our backs on you.”
This assistance is expected to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are short of ammunition and air defence systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the vote as reinforcing America’s leadership in democracy and the free world.
The aid package faced opposition from some Senate Republicans,
who opposed new aid, 15 Republicans, as well as two Democrats and Senator Bernie Sanders – who opposed giving new weapons to Israel – voted against the bill.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville expressed concern that more aid to Ukraine would prolong the conflict, as there is no clarity on what victory means.
The aid package adopted on Tuesday also includes 26.4 billion dollars in military aid to Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz thanking Congress for their “unwavering support for Israel’s security”.
In addition, another 8.1 billion US dollars are earmarked for allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan, to “fight communist China”.
A Chinese government spokeswoman criticised US military aid to Taiwan, calling it a “serious violation of the one-China principle” that would “send the wrong signal to pro-independence separatist forces” in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s incoming President William Lai said the aid package would “strengthen deterrence against authoritarianism”.
Also read: Biden administration prepares “big” aid package as Russia continues to attack civilian objects
Follow us on Facebook and X!