US defence budget may withdraw US $300 million for Ukraine because of far-right – CNN

Leaders of Republican factions in the US Congress are discussing the possible removal of US$300 million in aid to Ukraine from the defence budget to unblock votes on other budget issues.

Source: European Pravda, citing CNN

Details: According to two CNN sources, by removing the article on military support for Ukraine from the national defence appropriations bill, Republican leaders in the House and Senate are trying to persuade the far-right wing of the party to approve other budget expenditures.

This idea is being discussed against the background of another failure of the vote for the US defence budget in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The relevant bills have enjoyed bipartisan support over the past 60 years.

Since far-right Republicans in the Lower House of Congress have previously proposed withdrawing US$300 million in aid to Ukraine, such a move could help attract their votes.

But, as CNN adds, it is unclear whether moderate representatives of the Republican Party, who are already outraged by the actions of far-right colleagues, will agree to this.

It should be noted that the US$300 million in question concerns the financing of the programme "Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)", which has existed since 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

It is unrelated to the US$24 billion in additional funding the White House is requesting to meet Ukraine's needs through the end of this year, which is also being blocked in the House of Representatives by far-right Republicans.

Some right-wing Republicans, led by Donald Trump, argue that the United States is giving Ukraine too much aid and should focus on domestic priorities.

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