U.S. Senate Approves $40B Aid Package for Ukraine

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to pass a roughly $40 billion bill to send aid to war-ridden Ukraine.

The 86-11 vote sends the sweeping package to President Joe Biden's desk, who is expected to sign it into law. All of the opposition came from Republicans.

“I praise the U.S. Senate's approval of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. $40 billion is a significant U.S. contribution to the restoration of peace and security in Ukraine, Europe and the world. We look forward to the signing of the law by the American President,” Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The House approved the bill earlier this month.

The legislation provides money for military and humanitarian aid. It includes funding to assist Ukrainian military and national security forces, help replenish stores of U.S. equipment sent to Ukraine, and provide public health and medical support for Ukrainian refugees.

This bill could give Kyiv billions of dollars in new military and economic assistance; $6 billion has been set aside to fund the arming, training and supplying of the Ukrainian military, with about $8.7 billion to replenish U.S. weapons stocks that have been used to arm Ukraine as the war waged by Russia nears its third month. An additional $3.9 billion is allocated for the U.S.' European Command, and the bill would increase a congressional cap on funding for friendly nations from $450 million to $950 million.

The massive spending bill comes on top of roughly $13.6 billion allocated by Congress in March.

The $40 billion package is significantly more than the $33 billion requested by Biden last month, as he and his administration continue to warn that existing funds and authorities to transfer arms from existing U.S. stockpiles have run dry.

Pentagon to send $100 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine

On May 19, the Pentagon announced the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to an additional $100 million. This authorization is the tenth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

The package includes 18 155mm Howitzers; 18 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers; 3 AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars; and Field equipment and spare parts.

The United States has now committed approximately $4.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $3.9 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked further invasion on February 24. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $6.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.