US senators ended long-delayed $95 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Last night, the US Senate finally sent the $95 billion triple package of military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to President Joe Biden’s desk. With this, they put an end to the long delay, which, according to more and more representatives of the administration and the high command in Washington, is the reason for the casualties on the Ukrainian battlefield, writes the British publication “Independent”, quoted by BTA.

The newspaper said senators voted overwhelmingly 79 to 18 for the package. After a long delay, the House of Representatives voted on the military aid on Saturday.

“America will never abdicate its responsibility as a leader on the world stage,” The Independent quoted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, as saying before the vote.

The bipartisan vote on the $95.3 billion aid package ended the law’s tortuous journey to the Capitol. President Biden is expected to quickly sign it an hour sooner, the “New York Times” also commented.

The vote ended the deadlock in Congress over funding for Kiev’s military effort, the Financial Times added.

Military aid to Ukraine comes at a time when the war-torn country is in desperate need of new firepower and as Russian President Vladimir Putin steps up his attacks. Ukrainian soldiers are experiencing difficulties as Russia has gained the upper hand on the battlefield and has gained significant territories, writes the French edition “Mond”.

It recalls that on Monday, Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the US would send badly needed air defense weapons as soon as the law was passed, and quoted Zelensky, who this morning thanked the Senate on social media: “Thank you to the majority leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for their strong leadership in moving this bipartisan vote forward, and to all of the U.S. senators from both parties who voted in his favor.”

The funds for Ukraine come at a key time for the country in its war with Russia, as Ukrainian forces, short on ammunition, have already begun retreating from frontline cities. The Pentagon has warned for months that a US failure to arm Ukraine would prove catastrophic and could spur Russian military advances in other neighboring countries, the Washington Post commented.

Months of congressional inaction could also cause lasting damage to America’s reputation and alliances, officials and analysts told the publication.

“The perception of the United States as a reliable ally has been severely damaged,” Kurt Volker, who served as the Trump administration’s Ukraine liaison officer, told The Washington Post. “This will have a knock-on effect and may increase doubts among NATO member states that the United States will honor its mutual defense commitment as a member of the alliance,” he noted.

The Washington Post also commented that Democrats, for their part, are deeply divided over Israel’s approach to the Gaza war, but Democratic senators largely managed to unite in approving the aid package yesterday. Some Democrats pointed Iran’s recent strike against Israel as an event that they believe will make clear to voters the need for the package, the paper said.

The British newspaper “Telegraph” recalls that the impasse in which President Joe Biden and the Congress found themselves began in October, when he proposed a large-scale “supplement” for Ukraine, aimed at continuing the financing of the war by the United States until the presidential elections in November.

With the support of Donald Trump, some Republicans argued that the government should instead focus on domestic priorities, including securing the US border, and called for a negotiated end to the war, the paper said.