The $95.3 billion bill was passed after months of congressional gridlock jeopardized a major thrust of President Biden’s foreign policy.
President Biden was set to sign a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Wednesday, reaffirming U.S. support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s military attack after months of congressional gridlock threatened the White House’s main foreign policy thrust.
On Tuesday evening, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the package, a sign of bipartisan support after growing policy divisions raised questions on Capitol Hill and among U.S. allies about whether the United States would continue to support Kyiv. The 79 to 18 vote gave Biden another legislative achievement to boast about, even in the face of an obstructionist House of Representatives.
“Congress passed my bill to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the strength of American leadership: We stand firmly for democracy and freedom, against tyranny and oppression,” Mr. Biden said Tuesday night, just minutes after the Senate vote.
He said he would sign the bill into law and address the American people on Wednesday “so we can start sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.”
The White House first requested the security package in October, and officials explicitly acknowledged that the six-month delay has put Ukraine at a disadvantage in its fight against Russia.
“The Russians are slowly but successfully taking more and more territory from the Ukrainians and pushing them to the first, second, and sometimes third line of defense,” John F. Kirby, spokesman for President Biden’s National Security Council, said on Air Force One on Tuesday. “The short answer is yes, there has been damage done over the last several months.”
Nevertheless, the passage of the legislation ended an extraordinary period in Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson had to overcome fierce right-wing opposition to get it through the House of Representatives. The aid is split into four parts: one measure for each of the three US allies and another designed to sweeten the deal for conservatives, which includes a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.
The bill includes $60.8 billion for Ukraine; $26.4 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid to civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8.1 billion for the Indo-Pacific. It also includes sanctions against Iranian and Russian officials.
The House of Representatives also added a provision requiring the president to demand that the Ukrainian government repay $10 billion. The idea to include a portion of the aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan was another example of former President Donald Trump’s influence on Congress. Trump called for making any future aid to Ukraine a loan.
The White House tried to reach an agreement with Mr. Johnson in various ways for six months. Officials even agreed to some tougher measures at the US border when Mr. Johnson said he would not allow aid to Ukraine without border restrictions. But when Trump denounced the law, hoping to prevent Biden from winning the election, Republicans followed suit.
But when the Senate passed its own bill to provide $95 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan without any immigration measures, it increased the pressure on Mr. Johnson.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/us/politics/biden-ukraine-israel-aid.html
Canada will provide additional assistance to Ukraine to ensure “resilience and recovery” in the amount of 129 million Canadian dollars and more than $40 million, the press service of the Canadian government reported.
This was reportedly announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting Ukraine today with international partners to reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for Ukraine,” the Canadian government said in a statement on its official website on Saturday.
“The Prime Minister of Canada has announced new support for Ukraine’s efforts to build resilience and recovery,” the statement said. It provides for the allocation of 75 million Canadian dollars for demining, cyber support and intelligence support, 15 million Canadian dollars to help create the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide of 1932 and 1933 in Kyiv, up to 39 million Canadian dollars for mental health assistance, food support and for the reconstruction and restoration of local communities.
It is also reported that more than $22 million will be allocated “in humanitarian assistance to support United Nations and Red Cross partners in providing critical assistance, including emergency medical interventions, protection services, shelter, water, sanitation and nutrition, and promoting compliance with international humanitarian law.” More than $18 million will be allocated to support various projects: “from demining to reducing threats from nuclear or radiological materials and chemical weapons, as well as combating disinformation.”
Earlier, it was reported that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau signed a Security Agreement in Kyiv, which provides for the allocation of Canadian assistance in the amount of 3 billion Canadian dollars in 2024.
Nova Group and Nova Poshta, together with the Come Back Alive charity foundation, have handed over the third batch of aid in the form of integrated communication devices (ICDs) to the Ukrainian Air Force as part of the Pack the Sky – Upgrade Air Defense project, the group’s press service said on Friday.
“This is the first project in Ukraine that comprehensively provides the air force with communications,” said Olena Plakhova, Nova’s director of reputation management.
According to the release, the exact number of KAZs transferred was not disclosed, but all of them have already been delivered to the Center Air Command and are helping to defend Kyiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and other cities and villages in the central part of the country.
According to the report, the KAZs are domestic trucks with high cross-country ability, provided with the necessary equipment, machinery, and secure communications to effectively perform combat missions. Their main task is to accompany air defense missile systems.
The cost of one KAZ is about UAH 7 million.
As reported, last year, to strengthen air defense within the framework of the “Pack the Sky – Upgrade Air Defense” project, from June 1 to December 26, “Come Back Alive” together with Nova Poshta raised UAH 330 million.
It is noted that thanks to the Foundation’s operational work with manufacturers and engineers, in October 2023, before the end of the collection, “Come Back Alive” and “Nova Poshta” handed over two batches of equipment to air defense units: a batch of portable communication and control kits, as well as telecommunication kits and related equipment.
On Thursday, November 23, the Finnish government submitted a proposal to the parliament to amend the draft budget for 2024, among other things, the proposal contains amendments to support Ukraine, the government’s website reports.
In particular, it is proposed to increase by €95.7 million the maximum amount of authorization for the purchase of military equipment for the UKR 2023 Defense Forces for 2024-2028. The proposal will cover the cost of replacing equipment as a result of the 19th package of material assistance provided to Ukraine. The increase in allocations in 2024 will amount to EUR 20.7 million. As a result of the increase, the maximum amount of procurement authorization will be EUR 1 billion 451 million.
In addition, the government proposes to increase the capital of the Finnfund by EUR 25 million, which will be used for investments and loans focused on Ukraine.
Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional 200m euros to support education, the health care system and drinking water supply, as well as reconstruction of cities.
This was announced by the German government’s commissioner for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Jochen Flasbart, during his visit to Ukraine, Deutsche Welle (Deutsche Welle) reported citing DPA.
According to the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin, Germany has allocated about 1.1 billion euros to support civilians since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On October 20, Flasbart announced on social network X that he had arrived in Kiev together with German Federal Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke.
US President Joseph Biden’s administration is preparing to announce a new arms package for Ukraine next week, Reuters reports.
“The composition of the next arms aid package is still under development and is due to be unveiled on Wednesday at the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, where security assistance will be a key topic, officials said. The amount of aid is expected to be about $200 million and may include ammunition and ground equipment similar to those in recent aid packages,” the report said.
It is noted that the US Department of Defense continues to spend funds identified as a result of a multibillion-dollar accounting error. These funds have allowed the Biden administration to send weapons, materials, and ammunition to Kyiv, despite the fact that new aid to Ukraine was excluded from the temporary spending bill passed by the House of Representatives last weekend to prevent a government shutdown. However, the Pentagon still has approximately $5.4 billion available under the Presidential Decision Authority (PDA) granted by Congress, after the Pentagon revealed in June that an accounting error had overstated the cost of arms delivered to Ukraine by $6.2 billion.
In addition, Biden is asking Congress to approve another $24 billion for Ukraine, which supporters of aid to Ukraine, both Republicans and Democrats, had hoped might become law as part of the spending bill. This request has not yet been considered.
