Senate sends $50bn to Biden's desk for Ukraine
More than half of the funds are earmarked for military spending to enable Ukraine to fight Russia

The US Senate on Thursday approved $40 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as Russia continues its offensive in the Donbass region.
The vote fell 86 to 11 after a week's delay and despite opposition from a handful of self-proclaimed America First Republicans. US President Joe Biden is expected to swiftly sign the measure, releasing vital aid as the war enters its fourth month.
The Senate package exceeds the $33 billion Biden requested three weeks ago and includes increased spending on defense and humanitarian aid.
The President welcomed the passing of the law, saying Congress had ensured that Ukraine's funding would not be cut. The President will sign off on the measure once the Senate has formally passed it.
The government also announced Thursday an additional $100 million in security assistance from already approved funds, including artillery, radar and other equipment.
More than half of the new package's funds are earmarked for weapons, equipment and military financing for Ukraine, as well as for restoring US weapons stockpiles and supporting European Command operations.
The vote was postponed after Republican Senator Rand Paul introduced several procedural hurdles, including a call for an inspector general for appropriations and fears the package would require additional deficit spending. Paul, a fiscal conservative lawmaker known for his non-interventionist views, said last week that "we cannot save Ukraine by wrecking the US economy."
The US has provided Ukraine with billions in lethal aid, including artillery and anti-tank systems that have played crucial roles in repelling Russian attempts to take Kyiv and other parts of the country.
The new aid comes at a time when US officials are describing a grueling and slow offensive in eastern Ukraine that is shaping up as a war of attrition. Biden administration officials are skeptical about prospects for a diplomatic solution anytime soon. The package passed on Thursday is expected to last until at least September.
The legislation passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support. MPs from both parties said the comprehensive package showed US determination to continue the war.
"The approval of this $40-billion add-on package, which aims to provide more artillery, anti-tank weapons and other materiel, as well as economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, is another blow to the ailing [President Vladimir] Putin, who is already dealing with the most effective, coordinated, and far-reaching economic sanctions in history," said Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Im Inhofe, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the bill would allow Ukraine to quickly obtain much-needed military aid and more advanced weapons systems while Russia prepares for a prolonged conflict.
He called on the Biden administration to do more "both to help Ukraine and to replenish our own stockpiles, and we need to accelerate our munitions manufacturing process in particular."
Senator Mike Lee, one of the Republicans who voted against the aid, said he could not support the bill without other cost-balancing measures.
"I support aid to Ukraine to drive out the Russian invasion, but with inflation, gas prices and shortages ravaging Americans back home, I can't support $40 billion in new spending unless they are offset by cuts or taken from funds already approved.
