China News Agency, Washington, May 19 (Reporter Sha Hanting) The U.S. Senate voted on the 19th local time to approve an additional $40 billion in military and economic assistance to Ukraine.
In the vote that day, 86 votes in favor, 11 votes against.
All the dissenting votes came from Republican lawmakers.
The $40 billion aid bill includes $24 billion in military aid to provide Ukraine with weapons and related equipment, and the remaining $16 billion in economic aid, which will be used to maintain the Ukrainian government.
The bill had previously passed the House of Representatives.
Next, it will be sent to the White House to be signed by the President.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said the bill passed this time would provide Ukraine "a huge help to ensure its victory."
Schumer also said he did not think this would be the "last aid" for Ukraine.
For the bill, a number of Republican lawmakers expressed opposition.
They argue that aid to Ukraine is "excessive" and that the money should be used for domestic projects and domestic problems.
The U.S. Congress approved $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine in March, and the $40 billion in aid approved this time brings the total to $53.6 billion.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the figure already exceeds the total amount of foreign aid provided by the United States in all of 2019.
In addition, due to Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, the United States has taken several rounds of sanctions against Russia, including sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and other individuals, exclusion of some Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system, and cancellation of normal trade relations with Russia Wait.
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