(Washington) It’s only a matter of hours: the American Congress will vote very soon on the final adoption of a huge aid plan for Ukraine, the result of months of extremely tense and laborious negotiations .
The package, which also includes funds for Israel, Taiwan and an ultimatum to TikTok, could pass the Senate by the end of the day Tuesday.
“Let’s not keep our friends around the world waiting another moment,” said Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, pleading for the imminent holding of a vote.
A parliamentary source indicated that the final adoption of the text on Tuesday evening was “possible” but not yet “guaranteed”.
The debates could, at the latest, stretch until Wednesday.
There is almost no doubt about its adoption: this enormous military and economic assistance program, demanded for months by President Joe Biden, benefits from the support of elected officials on both sides.
It was already approved on Saturday in the House of Representatives, the scene of long and difficult negotiations.
” Hard time ”
Joe Biden promised his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to send him military aid “quickly”, once the text is adopted in the Senate and then promulgated by him.
Of the total amount presented to the American Congress, the lion’s share – $61 billion – is in fact intended for Kyiv, which faces a complicated situation on the battlefield against Russia.
The Ukrainian army is facing a shortage of new recruits and ammunition, which weakens it in the face of constant pressure from Russian troops in the east.
Once the package is adopted, the United States hopes to be able to deliver military assistance to Kyiv “in the coming days,” the Pentagon spokesperson said.
This aid plan also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets to be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. An idea that is gaining ground with other G7 countries.
The US Congress has not passed a major package for its ally in almost a year and a half – mainly due to partisan bickering.
The American president and the Democratic Party are in favor of aid to Ukraine, presented as an investment in the security of the United States in the face, according to them, of Russia’s aggressive aims.
The Republicans, led by Donald Trump, are increasingly reluctant, and the conservative boss of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has long blocked the text.
He ended up supporting the resumption of military and economic aid, with this justification: “I would rather send munitions to Ukraine than send our boys to fight.”
Israel, TikTok, Taiwan
Among the other parts of the grand plan: new military aid of several billion dollars for Israel, at war with Hamas, despite the international community’s concerns about the fate of civilians in Gaza.
These funds will be used in particular to strengthen the Israeli anti-missile shield, called “Iron Dome”.
More than 9 billion dollars are also planned to respond to the “urgent need for humanitarian aid” of “vulnerable populations around the world”, particularly in Gaza and Sudan.
As Joe Biden had called for, this bill devotes $8 billion to stand up to China militarily by investing in submarines, and to help Taiwan.
It also provides for the ban on TikTok in the United States, unless the social network cuts its ties with its parent company ByteDance, and more broadly with China.
The video platform is accused of allowing Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States.