US Senate approves $95bn aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

After weeks of setbacks and delays, the US Senate gave final approval to a $95bn wartime aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other American allies early Tuesday morning, sending the bill to the Republican-controlled House where its fate is uncertain.

In a pre-dawn vote, the Senate passed the measure 70 to 29, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to pass most legislation in the chamber. Nearly all Democrats and 22 Republicans approved the bill, which exposed deep divisions within the GOP over America’s responsibility to its allies and its role on the world stage.

The measure includes $60bn in funding for Ukraine, where soldiers are running out of ammunition as the country seeks to repel Russian troops nearly two years after the invasion. Much of that money would go toward supporting Ukraine’s military operations and to replenishing the US supply of weapons and equipment that have been sent to the frontlines. Another $14bn would go to support Israel and US military operations in the region. More than $8bn would go to support US partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan, as part of its effort to deter aggression by China.

It also allots nearly $10bn for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, where nearly a quarter of residents are starving and large swaths of the territory have been ravaged.

Joe Biden has urged Congress for months to rush aid to Ukraine, where military leaders have warned that their soldiers are running out of ammunition as they battle Russia on the frontlines nearly two years after the invasion.

“We cannot afford to wait any longer. The costs of inaction are rising every day, especially in Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement, applauding the bipartisan coalition of senators who