US Senate advances bill to assist Ukraine amid escalating tensions with Russia

The United States (US) Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 21 said that it has advanced a bill to deliver aid to Ukraine as the nation struggles with Russia and pressures the firms assisting Moscow in building Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that could deprive Kyiv of lucrative transit fees. The bill called Ukraine Security Partnership Act was approved by voice vote and it authorizes $300 million in the foreign military financing. Out of the $300 million, at least 50% would be subject to no conditions. It now needs to be passed in the full Senate and the House of Representatives and get US President Joe Biden’s signature to finally become a law.

The official statement on Wednesday read, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded Committee passage of their Ukraine Security Partnership Act.”

“This legislation increases and improves U.S. military support to Ukraine, and sends a message that the United States will continue to support the people of Ukraine, their ability to defend themselves, and the country’s democratic transition,” it added.

Ukrainians should 'have a right'

The advancement of the bill in the US comes in the backdrop of Kyiv already seeking international support in its standoff with Moscow over the buildup on the eastern border of Ukraine in Crimea by Russian troops. The conflict that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has already killed at least 14,000 people recently escalated. US Senator Jim Risch, the committee's top Republican said in a release that Ukrainians have the right to choose their own fate.

Risch on Wednesday said, “Today, as Russia masses more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, more than at any time since the 2014 invasion, I am proud the committee moved the Ukrainian Security Partnership Act forward in support of the Ukrainian people.”

“Ukrainians have a right to choose their own future, and this bill contributes to that by supporting Western-style military reforms, lethal and non-lethal military equipment to defend itself from Russia, and U.S. diplomatic support for peace negotiations,” he added.

Image credits: AP