The BBC News Russian Service app is available for IOS and Android . You can also subscribe to our Telegram channel.
image copyrightReuters
This is not the first time Senator Rand Paul has spoken out against Washington’s foreign aid.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has blocked an urgent allocation by the US Senate of additional $40 billion in aid to Ukraine.
The White House is trying to fast-track through the Senate a decision to provide Kyiv with $40 billion, the largest package of American aid in decades.
Leading senators – Republicans and Democrats – showed rare unity in such cases, agreeing that additional humanitarian and military assistance urgently needs to be provided to Ukraine, which is in a difficult situation.
On Thursday, however, one Republican senator thwarted those plans by single-handedly speaking out against.
Senator Rand Paul, who has repeatedly opposed Washington bailouts to other countries, declined to support the proposal, which required a unanimous decision.
It calls for special legislation to impose American control over how the money is spent.
“You can’t throw away $40 billion without any oversight. We did it in Afghanistan: a special inspector general did not stop all the waste, but at least made the thieves think twice before stealing money,” Paul said.
“I swore allegiance to the US constitution, not to some foreign state. With all my sympathy for this cause, I swore an oath to the national security of the United States of America. We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the American economy. In March, inflation reached its highest levels in 40 years. Only gasoline has risen in price by 48%. Energy prices – by 32%,” Paul explained his position.
“All Rand Paul will achieve is to single-handedly drag out much-needed aid to Ukraine,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The senator’s demarche caused discontent among his colleagues.
“If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demands … all he will achieve is to single-handedly drag out much-needed aid to Ukraine,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The package is ready to be passed, the vast majority of senators on both sides want it,” Schumer said.
“Ukraine is not asking us to fight in this war. They are only asking for the resources they need to protect themselves from this insane invasion. And they need this help right now,” said another Kentucky senator, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. .
What is the danger of this delay?
In April, President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve an additional $33 billion in aid to Ukraine, but lawmakers decided to increase military and humanitarian aid to $40 billion.
The House of Representatives voted 368 to 57 in favor of the aid package, with only some Republicans disapproving.
Now the senators will have to consider the bill not in an accelerated, but in the usual way, and this procedure may be delayed. However, this decision is expected to be made next week by majority vote.
A delay in the release of the aid package could cause temporary problems for the US and its allies trying to support Ukraine, according to Washington.
The Biden administration expects to run out of funds by May 19 that allow the president to authorize the provision of weapons to Ukraine without congressional approval if necessary.
Meanwhile, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, promised that the European Union would provide an additional 500 million euros in military assistance to Ukraine.
“I intend to announce that we, the European Union, will provide a new tranche of 500 million euros to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Thus, the total amount will be 2 billion euros,” he said on Friday.
