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UNIAN, photo president.gov.ua, Getty Images Although the Republican Party suffered a painful defeat in this week’s midterm elections, efforts by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine continue — negotiators from the US, Russia and Ukraine are set to meet next week in Abu Dhabi.
Now that the Democrats control both chambers of Congress, lawmakers intend to use their budgetary and oversight powers to strengthen support for Ukraine and impose new sanctions on the Russian economy, Financial Times writes.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are preparing a new package of military aid for Kyiv that, according to one Democratic aide on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, could amount to about 15 billion dollars.
The Democrats’ victory came at a very timely moment
The article says the Democrats’ victory came at a time when Ukraine is facing arguably its toughest winter since the war began. Russia is systematically attacking the country’s energy infrastructure, and there is a catastrophic shortage of interceptors for Patriot systems needed to protect Ukraine.
Supporters of Kyiv are hoping to take advantage of the so-called “lame-duck” period — before the new Congress is sworn in in January — to secure more immediate assistance.
Energy assistance “ranks very, very high on our list” for this period, the Democratic committee aide said.
Lawmakers are most likely to use the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which must be passed before the current Congress adjourns, as an instrument to support Kyiv.
Melinda Herring, senior adviser at the advocacy group Together for Ukraine, said: “I expect Ukraine’s defenders to offer amendments during consideration of the NDAA on several issues: sanctions, intelligence support, interceptors, and also Starlink and Starfield.”
One focus — a law on sanctions against Russia
A top priority for Democrats in the new Congress will be changing the sanctions law against Russia named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham. That law, passed with broad bipartisan support, requires financial sanctions on Russia’s defense and energy sectors.
But last month Trump used broad authority to grant waivers and removed Moscow from the scope of those sanctions immediately after reaching an agreement with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin on releasing Russian diesel fuel to world energy markets.
“We are going to amend the Graham law. It took one and a half years to impose sanctions on Russia, and they were wiped out with a single stroke,” another Democratic committee aide said.
Without a two-thirds majority in both chambers, Democrats will not be able to stop Trump from vetoing bills without Republican support. But committee aides say they will seek to tighten oversight of the Starlink satellite communications network owned by Elon Musk and used by Ukraine.
A Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee aide said the committee has informed Musk of the need to preserve all documents related to any slowdown, and is also sending requests to ports, banks and organizations involved in Trump’s deal with Russia on diesel fuel.
Ukraine has long enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress
However, reporters note many Republican defenders of Kyiv, including Senators Thom Tillis, Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins, are either retiring or leaving their posts after election defeats. So finding new supporters will be crucial for building a supermajority capable of overriding a veto in Congress.
Meanwhile Ukraine is acting cautiously. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently expressed hope that the new Congress will resume talks “on strong financial support for Ukraine or on providing Ukraine with weapons.”
“I don’t think anything will change radically; foreign policy remains the prerogative of the president,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker from the ruling Servant of the People party and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
He emphasized that he would simply like the situation not to deteriorate further. This concerns the repeal of new sanctions against Russia or the conclusion of new deals.
Other news about the past US elections
UNIAN earlier reported how the Republican Party’s defeat will affect US support for Ukraine. France 24 correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze says there is cautious optimism in Kyiv. Ukrainians understand that US foreign policy is still determined by the White House.
In addition, we also reported that the Democrats’ victory in Congress could potentially open the way for new US assistance to Ukraine. It remains open whether the Democrats will be able to achieve this amid resistance from Trump.
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