Six Republicans joined Democrats to push for a vote on military aid to Ukraine, a blow to President Donald Trump's policy, as he had previously denied Kyiv U.S. support.
Points of attention
- The US House of Representatives voted to consider a bill on military support for Ukraine, with six Republicans joining Democrats to push for military aid despite President Donald Trump's stance.
- The bill includes provisions for military loans to Ukraine, extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and additional sanctions against Russia.
The US is moving forward with consideration of a bill on military aid to Ukraine
The House of Representatives voted 218 to 204 for a procedural motion that paves the way for a vote on the “Ukraine Support Act,” authored by Democrat Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"This vote is not a formality, it is a statement about whether this Congress and all its members stand on the side of Ukraine and its people, whether they support Ukraine and its struggle for freedom, democracy, and independence," Meeks said in the chamber after the vote.
The bill, first introduced in April 2025, remained in limbo as Republicans under Trump suspended efforts to provide support to Ukraine.
The law provides, in particular, for the provision of military loans to Ukraine in the amount of $8 billion, the extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) until 2027, which allows the United States to send weapons to Ukraine directly from Pentagon warehouses, as well as additional sanctions against Russia.
Republican Don Bacon said that the House of Representatives will vote on the final adoption of this decision on June 4.
This is a Churchill or Chamberlain moment for the U.S. House of Representatives when it comes to helping democracy and standing up to a thug aggressor. We have two more votes left before this passes the House completely.
At the same time, the publication notes that the text of the bill is outdated, since the amount allocated for the USAI fund is less than what Congress allocated for this fund through the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, namely $400 million. It also calls on NATO member countries to commit to spending 2% of their GDP on defense, while NATO member countries in 2025 mainly committed to achieving 5% of GDP spending on their defense.
"Anyone who votes for this is effectively saying that Ukraine should get $100 million less in funding, and that NATO countries should spend 2 percent of their GDP on national defense, not 5 percent. This is the exact opposite of helping Ukraine," a senior House Republican said.
However, supporters of Ukraine believe that a vote for Meeks' bill will be a powerful signal of U.S. support for Ukraine at a time when Russia is stepping up attacks on the country and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly appealed to Trump to provide Patriot interceptors to protect against ballistic missiles.
