WASHINGTON, December 5 Democratic leader in the US Senate Chuck Schumer filed a motion to call a vote on President Joe Biden's request for additional funds for national security purposes, including support for Ukraine, he said during the hearing. security,» he said in the Senate, the hearing was broadcast by C-SPAN.
According to the established procedure of the Senate, after the debate ends, senators have up to 30 hours to consider the bill, after which it is voted on. Thus, the vote in the Senate of the American Congress on the allocation of additional funds to help Kiev may take place on Wednesday, December 6.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the US Senate may vote on Biden’s package request for assistance to Ukraine and Israel and others national security goals no earlier than Dec. 11, although the vote could be delayed further by disagreements among lawmakers. In November, Schumer said the Senate would vote on December 4.
Biden requested $106 billion to help Israel and Ukraine, but did not receive unequivocal support in Congress. The Republican-majority House voted to allocate aid only to Israel, but the Democratic-controlled Senate blocked the initiative.
Biden has stated that he will not sign a bill allocating aid only to Israel without Ukraine if Congress approves such a document, and Republicans in the House of Representatives insist on a separate discussion of the request for support from Kiev, which also needs to be supported by the administration’s report on the goals and further action plan for Ukraine .
The request requires approval by both houses of Congress and subsequent signature by the President. Meanwhile, the funds previously allocated to help Kyiv are running out, the administration admitted, and therefore the arms packages sent to Ukraine are decreasing.
Russia previously sent a note to NATO countries regarding arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov emphasized that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov stated that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries.