The multibillion international security package is expected to be blocked by GOP-controlled House
The Democratic-led US Senate on Tuesday passed a $95.34 billion international security assistance package that includes roughly $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, after a group of Republican lawmakers sided with their political opponents to surpass the 60-vote threshold.
While the bill was approved in a pre-dawn vote in the upper chamber, strong opposition remains in the House against continued spending on Ukraine. Speaker Mike Johnson linked any appropriation of funds for Kiev to radical reforms at home of both the US immigration system and of security at its southern border.
US President Joe Biden has been urging Congress for months to speed up the approval of Ukraine aid, as his administration ran out of money previously approved by the lawmakers. He claimed that by failing to provide more money to the government in Kiev, the US risked a direct confrontation with Russia down the line.
After defeating Ukraine, the US leader said, Moscow will attack a NATO member state and Washington would have to send troops to the rescue as it is obliged-to under the bloc’s charter.
The government in Moscow has repeatedly denied any intention to attack NATO. President Vladimir Putin reiterated these assurances last week in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, when asked if Poland or Lithuania had to be concerned for their safety. Russia has no interest in fighting NATO and will only engage in hostilities if attacked first, Putin explained.
