MOSCOW, 22 Dec. The U.S. Senate vote on a $45 billion aid package for Kyiv was postponed hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech in Washington, Bloomberg writes. as part of a total $1.7 trillion spending package.
«These plans have been shelved after Democrats rejected Republican Sen. Mike Lee's proposal for an amendment that would require additional funding to comply with coronavirus restrictions when crossing the US southern border,» the publication says.
The agency notes that the adoption of the law on temporary funding will carry over key decisions on the distribution of costs to next year. This gives the GOP a chance to cut spending and possibly cut aid to Ukraine.
From January, the US Congress will start working in a new composition: the Republicans have received a majority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats have retained control over the Senate.
At the same time, the Republicans have already warned that they will tighten supervision over the provision of assistance to Ukraine. In November, they already submitted a draft law on the verification of funds allocated for this. As the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said, he is not against helping Kyiv, but will not allow the continuation of the practice of «open checks», when tens of billions of dollars are allocated without audit and accountability.
Russia has been conducting a military special operation in Ukraine since February 24. Against this background, the United States and its NATO allies continue to pump weapons into the Kyiv regime, allocating tens of billions of dollars for this. Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly stated that the supply of Western weapons only prolongs the conflict, and the transport of weapons becomes a legitimate target for the Russian army.