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The US Senate has passed a sweeping foreign aid package including $60 billion in military aid and economic support for Ukraine, sending it to the White House where President Joe Biden is expected to sign it.
Tuesday’s bipartisan vote officially brings an end to a months-long struggle in the US Congress to pass additional support for Ukraine, which is grappling with a wave of Russian drone attacks on energy infrastructure and other targets while running short on ammunition.
The House passed the Ukraine assistance package in a bipartisan vote over the weekend, after House Speaker Mike Johnson bucked warnings from conservatives in his party and brought the measure to the floor.
The funding passed the Senate as part of a broader package that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan, a measure to allow the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, and a bill that would force ByteDance to sell off TikTok. The vote was 79-18, a significant feat given divides within the Republican Party over Ukraine assistance and within the Democratic Party over aid to Israel.
During a press conference, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer credited bipartisanship with moving the bill across the finish line and singled out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is among the most vocal Ukraine supporters in Washington.
Biden said in a statement following the vote that he plans to sign the bill into law and deliver a national address “as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.”
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The Pentagon is expected to move quickly to rush artillery and air defense to Ukraine once the package has Biden’s signature. “We can move within days,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said last week. US officials told Reuters Tuesday that the administration is planning to source a $1 billion military aid package from the bill, which includes ammunition and other weapons that Ukraine can use immediately on the battlefield.
During a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, Biden said the US would “quickly provide significant new security assistance packages to meet Ukraine’s urgent battlefield and air defense needs” following the bill’s Senate passage, according to the White House.
The Ukraine package is similar to a measure passed by the Senate back in February, though it converts about $10 billion in economic aid to Ukraine into a loan — an idea first floated by former President Donald Trump. A majority of the $60 billion will go towards replenishing US weapons stocks. The bill also seeks to force Biden’s hand on sending long-range missile systems known as ATACMS to Ukraine.