Baghdad-INA
The leaders of the US Senate confirmed that the approval of the aid package allocated to Ukraine, amounting to $61 billion, will not happen this year, expressing their hope that this step will be achieved early next year, despite the White House’s insistence on lawmakers to quickly approve it.
Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate did not reach an agreement, despite repeated pressures exerted on them by President Joe Biden and repeated demands from Kiev.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a joint statement, “Negotiators are still working on a few issues and we hope that their efforts will allow the Senate to move quickly on (approving this package) early next year.”
This statement represents another disappointment for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited Washington last week with the intention of convincing congressional leaders to approve this aid package.
The statement by the Senate leaders comes the day after the White House warned that the remaining US funding authorized to support Ukraine this year is enough for one additional package before Congress must approve new aid to Kiev.
So far, Washington has provided more than $43 billion in military support to its ally, Kiev, since Russia began invading Ukrainian territory in February 2022.
2023-12-20 11:50:21