US weapons to Ukraine, the decisive hours are coming and Kiev awaits news from Washington. After a tug of war with the most extreme wing of his party, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will today put to the vote the separate packages for military aid to Israel and Ukraine. In particular, the 61 billion dollars destined for Kiev and blocked for months by Republicans responding to Donald Trump’s diktats are weighing heavily.
For Johnson, the support of the Democrats was crucial, as they voted together with the Republicans in the commission to send the laws to the floor, with the opposition of three members of the extreme right of the GOP.
The same support will be needed in the chamber, which could expose Johnson to dangerous reprisals from MPs who threaten to disqualify him. “The most important thing is to vote for this aid and move forward. I know they will make a profound difference, practically immediately, by ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself from Russian aggression”, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, from the G7 in Capri, hoping that the approval of the package takes place “this weekend” so that “it is not too late” to reverse the difficult situation on the ground in which Ukraine finds itself.
In fact, after possible approval in the House, the laws should pass through the Senate, which has approved a single law for the 90 billion in appropriations, before arriving at President Joe Biden’s signature which in this way will record a victory for the line followed in recent months. Faced with the stalemate in funding for Ukraine, the White House continued to exert moral suasion on the Republican Speaker to convince him that their approval was inevitable.
What also pushed Johnson to finally release the aid to Kiev was his recent meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, during which the former president, who until now was in fact the architect of the package’s stalemate , praised “very good relations” with the Republican leader. “I stand by the Speaker,” he said.
Johnson’s challenge to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is threatening to disqualify him, is gathering favor among moderate Republicans who have long wanted to vote on aid to Ukraine. “There comes a time when you cannot remain hostage to the extremist wing – Republican strategist Alex Conant explains to The Hill – the vast majority of Republicans do not want to abandon Ukraine and I want to give allies the support they need”.
The Pentagon prepares aid
In view of the House vote expected over the weekend, the Pentagon is already preparing to urgently send much needed artillery and air defense systems to Kiev as Politico writes, citing two American sources. Defense is working to speed up the bureaucracy for the first shipment as soon as the package is finally approved by Congress and signed by Biden.
The sources explain that many weapons are in warehouses in Europe and could therefore be immediately sent to Ukraine, some within a few days, while others will take weeks. “We certainly understand the urgency and are ready to move quickly,” said Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder, without going into detail about the package, but explaining that the United States has “a very robust logistics network that allows us to move material very quickly”, possibly in a matter of days.
Tags: weapons Ukraine today key day vote battle Congress
