US Senate approves more military aid for Ukraine after Zelensky’s historic visit

Washington: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to win an extra $US45 billion ($67.4b) to defend his country against Russia, one day after his historic speech urging the US to supply more weapons.

The money forms part of a broader $US1.7 trillion ($2.5 trillion) spending bill that passed the US Senate on Thursday afternoon (Friday AEDT), which includes a suite of other measures such as reforms to electoral laws exploited by Donald Trump to try to overturn Joe Biden’s victory; a ban on Chinese-owned TikTok being used on government devices; and emergency aid for communities recovering from disasters.

Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who addressed a joint sitting of Congress.Credit: AP

The additional military funding for Ukraine will be welcomed by at home as Zelensky returns from his surprise visit to the US, where he met with President Joe Biden and later addressed a joint sitting of Congress to make an impassioned plea for more support.

“Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” he told Democrats and Republicans.

“Russia could stop its aggression, really, if it wanted to, but you can speed up our victory. I know it.”

The spending bill passed with the support of some Republicans. It will now go to the House of Representatives, where the Democrats still hold the majority, before being sent to Biden to sign into law, in turn averting a shutdown of government operations due to lack of funding.

However, some are likely to be critical of the hefty $US1.7 trillion price tag, of which almost half – $US858 billion – will go towards defence. In contrast, only $US1 billion will be spent to help poorer countries cope with climate change, far less than Biden’s promise to spend $US11.4 billion annually by 2024 to help developing nation tackle global warming.

Among the critics is Trump, who put out a video – only a few hours before the bill passed – urging Republicans to vote against it and describing it “as a disaster for our country” because, in his view, it did not contain enough measures to tackle the surge of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.

“Passing a spending bill now, before Republicans take control of Congress on January 3, would squander our best chance to hold Biden fully accountable and force him to secure the border in the new year,” he said.

In another sign of tension within Republican ranks, he also took aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose job is to negotiate the success or failure of bills through the chamber.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.Credit: Bloomberg

“He’s more of a Democrat than a Republican,” Trump said.

The electoral reforms contained in the bill are significant because they go to the heart of the Capitol riots of January 6 last year, by overhauling the way Congress counts electoral votes.

Under the changes, the Electoral Count Act of 1887 – an archaic law that Trump and members of his orbit sought to exploit to stay in power – will be completely updated and replaced.

The new act will raise the threshold for objections to Electoral College votes from one member in each chamber to one-fifth of members in both chambers, essentially making it much harder to attempt a similar coup in the future.

The new funds for Ukraine include money to replenish US weapon stockpiles, train and support Ukraine’s military, and boost the country’s energy security while Russia continues to bombard its infrastructure. The bill also contains funds to “prepare and respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents”, in view of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s past threats about unleashing nuclear weapons if necessary.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.