Washington, December 7 – The bill to allocate over $100 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan did not pass the procedural vote in the US Senate, according to the live broadcast. Earlier, Democrats requested the end of debates and a vote on the document by the Senate. In order to proceed, the decision needed to be approved by at least 60 senators. 49 lawmakers voted in favor, while 51 voted against. As a result, the attempt to start working on the bill failed in the Senate, and as a result, the upper chamber of Congress will not be able to consider the request and approve it. President Biden had previously requested $106 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine, but did not receive unanimous support in Congress. The border security issue became a stumbling block. Republicans in Congress stated that they would not support the allocation of funds to Ukraine unless the administration changes its approach to border protection. The House of Representatives, where the majority belongs to the Republicans, voted in favor of providing aid only to Israel, but the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, blocked this initiative. The request requires approval from both chambers of Congress and the subsequent signature of the President. The funds previously allocated for assistance to Kyiv are running out, as acknowledged by the administration, hence the decrease in the packages of weapons sent to Ukraine. According to NBC News, the Democratic and Republican parties attempted to reconcile their positions on Biden’s request for additional support to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but these negotiations failed because the parties could not agree on the Republicans’ demands to tighten immigration legislation. If Congress fails to reach an agreement on assistance to Ukraine now, it will have to do so after the Christmas holidays, which will begin on December 14 for congressmen and December 15 for senators. The House of Representatives will resume its activities on January 9, and the Senate on January 8. Due to the uncertainty in Congress regarding support for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden made a special address. He urged Congress to urgently approve the request for funds for Kyiv. According to the President, Republicans are “shooting Ukraine in the knee” by linking the allocation of new funds to the fulfillment of their uncompromising demands for border and immigration reform. The White House had previously warned that there is a significant risk that Ukraine could lose if assistance from the US stops.
