White House to combine aid requests for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan

12 October, 2023 Loading military aid to Ukraine. Photo from open sources The White House is preparing a supplemental funding request that includes money for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and U.S. border security.

Representatives of the U.S. President Joe Biden's administration informed Members of Congress about this. According to NBC News sources, the White House's request for funding will be aimed at addressing the strain on the Pentagon that is providing additional military support for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, and at increasing the production of more weapons.

As previously reported, the White House has been considering combining requests for military aid for Ukraine and Israel into one request to Congress, hoping that this will increase the chances of approval of assistance for Kyiv. However, some Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives opposed this idea.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech on military aid to Ukraine during a visit to the Lockheed Martin weapons plant, which produces Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Troy, Alabama, May 3, 2022. Photo credits: AP

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reportedly assured Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with him in Brussels on Wednesday that the United States would continue providing Ukraine with weapons. Confidence in this assistance has been shaken by the exclusion of Ukraine's funding from the U.S. federal government's temporary funding.

It was also shaken by the blocking of the decision-making process in Congress after the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. As previously reported, U.S. senators from both parties intend to approve aid to Ukraine in the amount of between £50 and £100 billion in the coming weeks. U.S. senators shared with the media that they see more sense in one large package than in several smaller ones.

According to the senators, this will "give Ukraine confidence" and will be better "from a political point of view."

Military aid from the United States, January 2022. Photo from open sources

Such a package could be passed between October 16, when the Senate returns from recess, and November 17, when the current temporary spending bill expires. Senators expressed limited optimism about the package's passage.

Its size is still being discussed.