U.S. House passes Ukraine Support Act to provide aid and slap Russia with sanctions

Following a preliminary vote to consider the document earlier in the week, 226 congressmen ultimately voted in favor of the bill, while 195 voted against it, Reuters reported. The legislation will now move to the Senate for consideration.

Eighteen Republicans and one independent congressman, who typically aligns with the GOP, crossed party lines to join Democrats in supporting the bill. The vote highlighted emerging rifts in what has otherwise been nearly unanimous support for Donald Trump’s policies among members of his party.

However, the future of the Ukraine Support Act remains highly uncertain. To become law, the bill must clear the U.S. Senate, where Republican leadership has blocked votes on a separate Russian sanctions bill despite its broad bipartisan support. Senate Republicans have stated they are waiting for Donald Trump to take an official stance. If the Senate does manage to pass the bill, Trump is widely expected to veto it.

The legislation includes measures aimed at helping Ukraine rebuild after the war, allocating over $1 billion in direct assistance and up to $8 billion in support through direct loans. The document also introduces stringent sanctions and export controls targeting Russia, specifically focusing on financial institutions, the oil and mining sectors, and Russian officials.

U.S. military aid to Ukraine

On May 22, the U.S. State Department approved a $108.1 million sale to Ukraine for equipment, spare parts, and technical support to modernize its Hawk air defense systems.

On May 5, a major $373.6 million deal was finalized for the sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) aerial bombs, with Boeing serving as the primary contractor.

On May 16, Republican Representative Brian Mast, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, stated that Congress is unlikely to approve any future packages of free financial aid for Ukraine. According to Mast, while the U.S. will continue to offer intelligence support, "there will be no large packages," adding that "Europe must defend its own backyard."

On May 12, Laura Cooper, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense who coordinated military aid to Ukraine until January 2025, emphasized in an interview with NV that the current suspension of security assistance by the Donald Trump administration does not reflect the true desires of the American people.

Furthermore, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on May 2, it was revealed that the proposed 2027 U.S. federal budget contains absolutely no funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

This program earlier allowed the Pentagon to contract defense companies to manufacture new weapons tailored to the specific needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, rather than drawing exclusively from existing U.S. military stockpiles.