What's at stake in the US Congress' debate over Ukraine aid?
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Congress included no new money for Ukraine in the stopgap U.S. spending bill it passed on Saturday to keep the federal government open, highlighting the increasing reluctance of some Republicans to provide funds for Kyiv.
HOW MUCH U.S. MONEY IS STILL AVAILABLE?
Congress has approved $113 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, according to the Congressional Research Service.
A U.S. official said that, as of Monday, the Defense Department had $1.6 billion left to replace weapons sent to Ukraine, no funds left under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and $5.4 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to dip into U.S. defense stocks to arm Ukraine.
WHY IS CONGRESS DEBATING WHETHER TO CONTINUE UKRAINE AID?
While public opinion polls show that most Americans still back aid for Ukraine, that support is eroding.
A relatively small but vocal group of Republicans has criticized Ukraine assistance from the start, accusing the government in Kyiv of failing to sufficiently fight corruption, which Ukrainian and U.S. officials deny. They also argue that as the United States faces steep budget deficits, the federal government should be spending money at home or to boost its ability to compete with China.
Many of these Republicans are closely tied to former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner to be the party's nominee in the 2024 election. Trump, who was impeached in 2019 for holding up Ukraine aide to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help him politically, has said he would end the war in 24 hours if he wins and that the fight is more
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