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The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Saturday night on additional aid to Ukraine and Israel, providing $95 billion in critical aid to the two countries and potentially ending months of Congressional inaction. be.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of Donald Trump, told his fellow party members on Wednesday that he would unveil legislation on three bills that include additional military funding for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Wednesday that he “strongly” supports the policy and urged the House and Senate to support it. “I will sign this immediately and send a message to the world: We stand with our friends and will not allow Iran or Russia to succeed.”
House lawmakers will have 72 hours to consider the bills, setting the stage for a final vote on all three bills Saturday night, which will be closely watched by U.S. allies in Europe.
Johnson’s maneuver comes at a critical time for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and without new military aid from Washington, the country’s defenses could be overwhelmed by far superior Russian firepower. This comes after months of lobbying by U.S. allies who have warned that
But the decision to send the bill to the House of Commons carries considerable political risk for Mr Johnson. The party’s right-wing opponents have vowed to oust Johnson from the chair if he allows the aid bill to be voted on, and Democrats need to ensure that Johnson passes the funding bill and remains speaker. It is expected that support will be required.
Momentum for reintroducing the aid package grew after Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend, which Biden criticized as a “brazen” and “unprecedented” attack on one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East.
The potential breakthrough on funding for U.S. allies comes after months of inaction in the Republican-controlled House, which refused to adopt a $95 billion supplemental national security aid package approved by the Senate. This includes $60 billion and billions in funding for Ukraine. Israeli and Taiwanese dollars.
U.S. allies in Europe are alarmed by a deadlock in Congress over increasing aid to Ukraine, where Russian forces are threatening to gain more territory two years after President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion. There is.
The Russian military has stepped up artillery bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks amid concerns that Ukraine’s air defenses are weakening.
If passed, the bill could free up critical weapons and ammunition and help Ukraine better protect its cities from Russian missiles and drones that have targeted critical infrastructure in recent weeks. . President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week that the Kiev region’s largest power plant was destroyed in a Russian attack because the air defense force had run out of missiles.
Approval of the bill could also help the beleaguered Ukrainian military halt Russian ground attacks and buy Kiev’s exhausted forces time to rally.
Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Shirskiy said last Saturday that the situation on the battlefield had “significantly deteriorated” in recent days and that Russian soldiers were overrunning Kiev forces in a bid to capture more territory. .
Ukrainian military commanders on the front lines told the Financial Times that the Ukrainian army was vastly outnumbered by the Russian army, and that the enemy fired five to seven shells for every shell fired. he said.
“We are actively cooperating with the United States to obtain an appropriate decision from Congress on the U.S. aid package,” Zelensky told EU leaders in a video message to a summit in Brussels on Wednesday night. . “And I ask each of you to engage in communication with our American partners to make their support a reality.”
The EU has scrambled in recent months to finalize a stopgap military financing package, but European diplomats have acknowledged it lacks the defense and manufacturing capabilities to replace the United States.
The freeze on the flow of funds has also spooked some European capital, who fear it portends U.S. policy toward Ukraine under Trump if he regains control of the White House in November’s election. are.
“Ukraine is in dire need,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Wednesday. “We need to celebrate the time of weapons delivery, not the time of decision-making, because there can be a lag of months or even more between decision-making and implementation.”
Johnson’s plan, announced on Monday, includes three separate packages, including a $60.8 billion Ukraine aid bill, a $26.4 billion Israel aid package and an $8.1 billion package to send aid to Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific countries. The aid is divided into bills. The purpose is to deter Chinese aggression.
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Prime Minister Johnson also announced a new plan to seize Russian assets, impose additional sanctions on Russia, China and Iran, and ban TikTok from U.S. app stores unless its Chinese owners transfer ownership of the video-sharing platform. He said he would publish a draft of the 4th bill. The fifth bill aims to strengthen the security of the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, given the small Republican majority in the House, passage of the bill is not guaranteed.
Johnson’s leadership is in flux, with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie threatening to vote no confidence in him.
Johnson told reporters he considered himself a “wartime chairman” and vowed to keep fighting, adding: “I never expected this to be an easy road.”
