On Saturday, the lower house of the American Congress, the House of Representatives, approved the 60.8 billion dollar military support package intended for Ukraine, as well as aid to Israel and Taiwan. Now it’s the turn of the Senate, which approved 80 to 19 to vote on the packages. This can take place on Tuesday or Wednesday.
In the House of Representatives, slightly more Republican representatives voted against the Ukraine package than in favor of it, but the bill passed with the votes of Democratic representatives. The Senate is expected to accept the package, because the Republican Party’s opposition to it is less in the upper house.
Before the vote, McConnell called on his Republican party colleagues to accept the package on his website. According to the senator, the vote on support for Ukraine
a test of American resolve, our preparedness and willingness to lead.
He emphasized:
If we do not help Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, we are inviting escalation against our closest allies and trading partners. There is a greater risk that US forces will be drawn into the conflict. It means a more costly deployment of our forces and greater military requirements for defense against aggression.
McConnell emphasized that the funding provided by the package does not mean that China will be ignored, but will allow the modernization of the American defense industrial base in order to compete with China in the long term.
The aid, a significant portion of which actually goes to American arms companies, McConnell says will increase America’s capacity to produce critical munitions.
According to the senator, the support provided to Ukraine also encourages Europe to strengthen its own defense.
McConnell said the “hesitation and short-sightedness” that has delayed the passage of additional funding is “based on pure fiction.”
Make no mistake: the delay in providing Ukraine with weapons for its own defense has made the prospect of defeating Russian aggression difficult. Hesitating and hesitating only exacerbated the challenges we faced
said the US senator.
McConnell’s words have the potential especially in light of the fact that the expected presidential candidate of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, opposes the American support for Ukraine.
Cover image source: Getty Images
