The 60 billion support package, which has been stalled for a long time, is expected to go through with a vote that crosses party lines.
15:24•Updated 19:31
The U.S. House of Representatives will vote today, Saturday, on a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine.
The aid package has been stuck in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives since last September because of opposition from right-wing Republicans.
This week, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson announced that he would finally bring the package to a vote, when the House of Representatives voted 316-94 in favor of bringing the packages to the floor of the parliament on Friday.
In the past, they tried to get Ukraine support through as part of a large package, which included support for Israel and Taiwan as well as tightening of border security. However, it was not possible to get this package through because its different sections were supported by slightly different coalitions. That’s why Johnson decided to separate the sections into their own packages.
About 60 billion dollars in aid is coming to Ukraine, about 26 billion dollars to Israel and about 8 billion dollars to Taiwan.
From the House of Representatives, the support packages for US allies still go to the Senate for approval. The Senate is expected to approve the aid packages.
Ukraine has a great need
The Ukraine package is expected to pass with a vote that crosses party lines. The Republicans have a very narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and since the extremes of the party are against supporting Ukraine, it is inevitable that Democratic votes will also be needed for passage. The Democrats have been in favor of the support package from the beginning.
The party showed its willingness to support the package again on Thursday, when the progress of the law from the rules committee of the House of Representatives was made possible thanks to the Democratic votes.
For Ukraine, accepting the aid would be extremely critical. The United States has clearly been Ukraine’s most important armed supporter when the country has defended itself against Russian aggression.
After the end of US support, Ukraine has suffered from a severe shortage of ammunition in recent months, and the situation at the front has become dire. The efforts of European countries to increase their own support are not enough to fill the gap left by the US.
Valtonen: “Support means a lot to Ukraine and world peace”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen (collective) considers the support for Ukraine important, which is expected to be decided by the House of Representatives of the United States Congress today.
Valtonen commented on the support package in Ylen Ykkösaamu on Saturday, saying that the passage of the support package in Congress would be an excellent thing.
– Support means a lot to Ukraine and world peace, Valtonen said.
The situation in Ukraine is challenging, Valtonen reminded and added that NATO agreed a few weeks ago to increase support for Ukraine.
According to him, Europe is preparing to support Ukraine in the medium and long term.
– This means much larger defense budgets than Western countries have had until now.
According to Valtonen, a “rhythm change” has taken place in Europe in the past couple of months in terms of support for Ukraine.
– Europe has once and for all understood that regardless of what the United States does, we have to do more.