/Pogled.info/ The US House of Representatives, after a long debate, approved new military aid to Ukraine and also authorized the confiscation of Russian assets. The document must be approved by the Senate, after which it will be sent to US President Joe Biden for his signature. What convinced the House of Representatives to decide in favor of Ukraine? How can Russia respond to asset confiscation?
The US House of Representatives has approved $60.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine. In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans voted yes, while 112 Republicans voted no. US President Joe Biden thanked the US representatives for this decision, writes “Guardian”.
Of the total package, about $23 billion will be used to replenish the military reserves, and another $14 billion will go to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which the Pentagon buys advanced weapons systems for the Air Force directly from American defense contractors.
In addition, more than $11 billion will go to fund ongoing US military operations in the region, increase the potential of the ASU, and develop cooperation between US and Ukrainian intelligence. Another $8 billion is earmarked for non-military support, such as helping Ukrainian authorities with their “current costs,” including paying salaries and pensions.
It is worth noting that $10 billion of the total package is designated as a loan. This was done to convince some Republicans to accept the document.
The Senate will consider the bill on Tuesday and hold several preliminary votes in the afternoon. The final version of the law should appear by the end of next week and will be sent to the head of the White House for his signature.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned that his country would “lose the war” without US help and has now expressed gratitude to all supporters of aid to Kiev “and to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson personally for the decision that keeps history on track.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the new package demonstrated “continued bipartisan support” for Kiev. British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that “with such support, Ukraine can and will win”, Sky News reports.
However, many Western politicians sharply criticized the decision. Anti-Kiev Republican hardliner Marjorie Taylor Green attacked Johnson on social media, calling him a “traitor” to the United States. “We need a new Speaker of the House of Representatives,” she pointed out.
Also opposing the aid, Republican Victoria Spartz, a native of Ukraine, said, “There is no promised security at the U.S. border in today’s vote.” She also criticized the fact that of the entire “dirty fund” of aid to Ukraine, only $13.8 billion was “a type of direct military aid.”
The influential American billionaire David Sachs said that the collapse of Ukraine is still inevitable. “$61 billion is the bottom line for the annual allocation of funds in a new endless war,” he is sure. Elon Musk agreed with him. “My biggest fear is that there is no strategy to get out of the conflict, it’s just endless war,” he said.
Russian authorities strongly condemned the new military aid to Kiev. The release of American military aid to Ukraine is a direct sponsorship of terrorist activities, said the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova. The deputy permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, called Ukraine an anti-Russian “private military company” and said the situation would only lead to an increase in the number of victims.
The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, on his Telegram channel, called the decision Russophobic and wished the USA a quick entry into a new civil war, which will lead to the collapse of the country. The US is forcing Ukraine to fight to the last Ukrainian, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.
Independent Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy wrote that Zelensky presented this as his “big victory”. “Now Zelensky will not be able to say: ‘We lost because you didn’t vote.’ A vote is being taken. The last package before the US presidential election. Maybe the last one,” the blogger wrote on his Telegram channel.
However, Reuters, citing an unnamed White House official, has already reported that the Biden administration is finalizing the next aid package for Ukraine so that it can announce a new tranche of aid soon after the current bill becomes law.
The House of Representatives also voted on another bill that would allow the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the US for the benefit of Ukraine. It’s about $5 billion. A total of 360 congressmen voted for the initiative, 58 were against.
The United States will be responsible for the decision to confiscate Russian property, Moscow will take measures that meet its interests without a time limit, the president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov promised.
In total, since the beginning of the Russian special operation, the United States has sent weapons, equipment, humanitarian and other types of aid to Ukraine worth about 111 billion dollars.
It is worth noting that the condition for new arms supplies to Kiev from NATO countries was the adoption in Ukraine of a strict mobilization law to compensate for the losses of its armed forces, a diplomatic source in Brussels said.
“There are two aspects to this. First: this aid will not fundamentally change the course of the SVO or our ultimate achievement of all objectives. Ukraine has gained a lot more since the start of WWI, and Russia is still steadily moving forward and liberating more and more territory. So this will only serve to prolong the conflict, from which Ukraine itself will lose first of all, whose citizens remain on the battlefield,” said Konstantin Dolgov, deputy chairman of the Economic Policy Committee of the Federation Council, former deputy. Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.
“The second aspect: Undoubtedly, a significant portion of this aid will remain in the United States. That’s actually why many Republicans supported the package. These are additional orders for the American military-industrial complex, for large corporations and their employees, which the Democrats must “smear” before the presidential election to try to keep Biden in office. Part of this aid will be “eaten” in Washington, another – in Kiev. And in practice, a relatively small part will reach the front line,” explained the interlocutor.
“But in fact there is nothing good in the distribution of aid either, it shows once again that the US is advocating further confrontation with Russia.” And that’s why we have to hurry anyway. The aid is intended for the next year and a half. This means that during this time we must solve the military-operational tasks in the area of the SVO in such a way as to completely neutralize the effect of the supply of armaments to the SVO,” said the deputy.
“As for the possible asset seizure, this is economic thuggery on the part of the US. And I can say: retaliatory measures are already being developed – regarding the assets of American and other Western companies in Russia. We will definitely respond adequately and thoughtfully. I warn you: Western business will definitely not profit from this situation,” the senator stressed.
“The situation is this: in both parties, the majority is made up of people who fear that the threat of a geopolitical catastrophe has indeed loomed over Ukraine and the Zelensky regime. And they can only maintain them with new infusions of funds. In addition, the threat of a large-scale geopolitical catastrophe looms over the US on three fronts: Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. That is why these cases were combined to prevent the collapse of Washington’s foreign policy projects,” explained Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada at the RAS.
“In this case, the domestic political situation became hostage to the foreign political situation. If the US can at least maintain or improve its position on all three fronts, it will give the Biden administration a very strong trump card in the election. Thus, the Democrats intend to move to the White House again this fall,” the interlocutor emphasized.
“This is why the West will not abandon Ukraine, at least not now. I’m not sure about plans for massive support or attempts to push Russian troops back into Ukraine’s 1991 borders, but the cash injections will obviously continue. In addition, we must be prepared for increased participation of the West in the confrontation with Russia. It is not by chance that they are increasing the number of military instructors in Ukraine,” the expert noted.
“Against this background, Moscow, Tehran and Beijing must understand that they are together in countering this ‘wall’ built by the United States in Ukraine, the Middle East and Asia. Two regions are already hotspots. In Taiwan, it is quite possible that something like this will break out in the foreseeable future. But the West, building this “wall”, is actually forming a “counter-wall”. So Russia, China and Iran must clearly understand how to play together,” says the analyst.
Translation: V. Sergeev
Tags: big bet prolonging Ukrainian conflict
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