A bipartisan group of senators has spoken out against the Department of War's delay in providing USD 600 million in security assistance to Ukraine and other allies in Eastern Europe, sending a letter to the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday demanding that the funds be released.
The Associated Press website reports this.
The dispute between Congress and the Trump administration has escalated in recent weeks, as lawmakers from both parties demand information about what happened to USD 400 million in aid to Ukraine and another USD 200 million for defense programs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, funds that Congress appropriated last year.
Even Republican lawmakers have expressed frustration with the Trump administration's distancing itself from Ukraine and other European allies.
"Ukraine has steadfastly and courageously repelled a four-year russian assault, but its Armed Forces need and deserve continued U.S. support," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said in a joint letter.
Republican Senators Kevin Cramer and Thom Tillis, Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and Catherine Cortez Masto also signed the letter.
During a congressional hearing more than three weeks ago, Hegseth told lawmakers that the funding for Ukraine had been "allocated" and that a spending plan would soon be sent to lawmakers. But senators say the Pentagon has missed a promised May 15 deadline to submit the plan.
"Any further delays - especially given the Department's reported plans to withdraw U.S. forces from a region of concern - jeopardize our ability to adequately deter russia," the senators said.
Also gaining momentum in the House is a Democratic-backed proposal to expand sanctions on russia and provide USD 1 billion in military aid to Ukraine. While the aid package is unlikely to pass, it is helping to galvanize a new wave of support for Ukraine's military efforts among lawmakers.
The AP adds that USD 400 million in security assistance to Ukraine is a relatively small amount compared to the multibillion aid packages that Congress initially approved in the months and years immediately following the russian invasion, but for lawmakers, the provision also took on significance as a sign of their continued support.
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