'They should have already done it' - UA Foreign Minister won't get his hopes up on U.S. aid bill
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Ukrainian authorities are working around the clock to get the U.S. Congress to vote on a bill to aid Ukraine, but it is almost impossible to predict when this will happen, Kuleba said when asked whether the U.S. will vote on a national security bill that includes funding for Ukraine.
"They should have (already) done it,” Kuleba said.
“Our situation is as follows: since Fall 2023, we have been assured by Republicans and Democrats that everything will be voted on. House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said it would be done, but again - there was no decision. That's why I'm not willing to predict anything."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his Office, the government, and the Foreign Ministry — "everyone who can" — are working to ensure aid to Ukraine is approved, he said.
"I think we have a right to call this draft bill not just long-suffering, but anguished," Kuleba said.
The struggle for U.S. aid
Republicans in United States have been blocking the Ukraine aid bill since October 2023, originally tying it to U.S. migration policy.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill providing $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with $60 billion allocated to Ukraine on Feb. 13.
House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the Senate proposal and refused to submit it for consideration.
He said he would bring the aid extension to a vote “in a timely manner,” noting the urgent need for aid to Ukraine, Johnson promised after a meeting with President Joe Biden on Feb. 28.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $1.2 trillion funding package for government agencies on March 22, while the Senate passed the same package on March 23, leading President Biden to sign it and call on the House to pass a bill supporting Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The Biden administration was still negotiating new aid for Ukraine with Speaker Johnson as of April 5, who mentioned important amendments to the aid bill on April 1.
Unless the United States provides Ukraine with a new military aid package, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will “destroy everything and kill a lot of people”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on April 10.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
