The US Senate approves the multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Biden celebrates the approval: "We will begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week. The need is urgent"

MADRID, 24 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States Senate approved this Tuesday a multimillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for a total value of about 90 billion euros, more than half of which will go to kyiv, whose authorities have been asking for months more assistance due to Russian advances on the front.

The vote has had bipartisan support, with 79 votes in favor (48 Democrats and 31 Republicans) and 18 against (15 Republicans and three Democrats), as reported by the American television network CNN. The legislation, approved over the weekend in the House of Representatives, will now go to the desk of President Joe Biden, who will be in charge of enacting the package.

The aid would be divided between about 57 billion euros for Ukraine; 25 billion euros for Israel, immersed in the war in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and 7.5 billion euros for Taiwan, embroiled in a historic territorial dispute with China that in recent months has seen a rise in tensions.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has celebrated the approval of the package, highlighting that "tonight a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer the call of history at this critical turning point."

"Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we resolutely defend democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression," reads a statement from the White House.

Biden, who has stressed that this legislation will make the "nation and the world safer as they" support their partners "defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," has stated that he will sign this bill and address the American people as soon as the text reaches his desk.

"We will begin shipping weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week. The need is urgent: for Ukraine, which is facing relentless bombing by Russia; for Israel, which has just faced unprecedented attacks by Iran; for refugees and those affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including Gaza, Sudan and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

The approval of this emergency foreign aid package, a priority of the White House and much of Congress for months, puts an end to months of bitter fights over million-dollar aid to Ukraine, which had divided the Republican Party.