House passes £50bn Ukraine aid bill, awaits Senate and Biden's nod

The House of Representatives in the USA has passed the eagerly awaited bill for aid to Ukraine, totalling nearly £50 billion. However, it still requires approval from the Senate and a signature from President Joe Biden. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has already shared how Kyiv plans to utilise this significant financial support.

In a Facebook post, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal detailed the intended use of the funds should the Senate green-light the aid bill, amounting to an almost £50 billion contribution.

According to the plan, approximately £41 billion is earmarked for defence spending, about £6.4 billion for supporting the Ukrainian budget, around £1.3 billion for economic assistance, and £330 million for border protection and mine clearance.

Shmyhal underscored in his post the importance of the Senate’s forthcoming approval of the aid package, highlighting its anticipated impact: enhanced armaments for Ukraine, including long-range systems and air defence capabilities, bolstering macro-financial stability, especially for critical budgetary expenditures, and facilitating the swift reconstruction of crucial infrastructure.

Last Saturday, the House of Representatives voted on four aid bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, totalling a support package worth £78 billion. This effectively resolved the longstanding deadlock in the House and resumed support for Ukraine.

The most substantial portion of the aid, around £50 billion, was directed towards Ukraine and saw the most opposition despite passing with a significant majority. All the attending Democratic congressmen (210) voted in favour, but less than half of the Republicans (101 out of 213) did so.

Additionally, the House voted on a bill encompassing various security priorities. This included provisions to utilise £4-6.6 billion from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's aid, mandates for the sale of TikTok by its Chinese owners, a £6.6 billion aid package for Taiwan, and enhanced defence measures for the Indo-Pacific region. Proposals to eliminate financial support for Ukraine were dismissed.

All four proposals will now proceed as a unified bill to the Senate, with a vote expected next week. According to a Democratic representative in Congress speaking to PAP, the bill's adoption is hoped for by Tuesday. However, the exact timing will hinge on the Senate's procedural arrangements between the parties.

President Joe Biden has committed to signing the bill into law as soon as it is presented to him.