Why the U.S. should continue to help Ukraine and Israel

Article By TPT Staff Writer Blake Noe

At this time, the U.S. finds itself divided once again over whether or not we should continue to help Ukraine with its war against Russia. President Biden recently sent a request to Congress for $106 billion in security funding, of which $61.4 billion is for Ukraine. In addition, The White House has warned Congress that they will run out of funding for weapons and other assistance by the end of the year. However, 45% of Americans say that the government is spending too much on Ukraine. Most of the opposition comes from registered Republicans. Republicans in the House of Representatives say they will support more aid for Ukraine, but only if it is tied to funding for border security, something that is a non-starter for Democrats. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky visited Washington to appeal to Republicans and Democrats as to why they should continue to support funding for Ukraine. He also met with President Biden at The White House, after Biden invited him to visit the U.S. in order to make its case. Zelensky was also scheduled recently to address the Senate virtually, but he canceled at the last minute. Still, the Senate met to debate the funding bill. At the meeting tensions were high as Democrats were frustrated at the fact that Republicans will only support funding to Ukraine if it tied to border security funding. And as expected, a Senate procedural vote on the Ukraine funding bill failed by a vote of 49-51.

In addition, the U.S. is also supporting another one of its allies, Israel, with its war against Hamas. In the $106 million security funding request from The White House, $14.3 billion of that is allocated for Israel. Unlike the Russia-Ukraine War, the Israel-Hamas war is a more bipartisan issue in Congress. However, Biden says that Israel is losing support and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to change the way his government governs. The House recently passed an aid bill for Israel, but the vote was mostly along party lines as the bill combined Israel funding with budget cuts to the IRS. The Senate has introduced its own funding bill, which includes aid for both Israel and Ukraine, along with border security funding. But, like everything else in Congress these days, it comes with opposition from Senate Republicans, who say they do not support this bill because it doesn’t include immigration and asylum reforms.

I believe that we should continue to help Ukraine and Israel with their respective wars, particularly Ukraine. The Ukrainians recently launched a counteroffensive that failed, and because of this, the Russians were able to make gains in their invasion. If Congress isn’t able to pass a funding bill, Ukraine will not be able to continue defending its land and fending off Russia. In addition, the economy will also fail as a lot of the funding the U.S. gives to Ukraine goes to support the economy in Ukraine. If funding Ukraine stops, not only will it affect Ukraine, but it will also benefit Russia, as Russian forces will be able to take down Ukrainian forces and gain control of all of Ukraine, which will lead them to lose the war. There is additional fear all over Europe that Russia will use its control over Ukraine to invade other European countries that share a border with Ukraine, such as Poland. If Russia succeeds and invades Poland, the U.S. could find itself at war with Russia, as Poland is a NATO ally. Republicans in Congress need to put their issues aside and work with Democrats to pass a funding bill for Ukraine so Ukraine can continue to prosper.

Works Cited

Abutaleb, Yasmeen, et al. “Senate Republicans Block Procedural Vote for Ukraine Aid Package.” Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/06/ukraine-israel-aid-biden-senate.

“Almost Half of Americans Think U.S.  Spending Too Much on Ukraine Aid, AP-NORC Poll Says.” PBS NewsHour, 22 Nov. 2023, www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/almost-half-of-americans-think-u-s-spending-too-much-on-ukraine-aid-ap-norc-poll-says.

Bolton, Alexander, and Al Weaver. “Senate Republicans to Block Ukraine Funding After Tempers Flare at Classified Briefing.” The Hill, 6 Dec. 2023, thehill.com/homenews/senate/4343929-senate-republicans-ukraine-funding-tempers-flare-classified-briefing.

“Dems Assess Wreckage of Border Talks: ‘They Never Should Have Started.’” POLITICO, 6 Dec. 2023, www.politico.com/news/2023/12/06/congress-border-ukraine-deal-00130225.

Liptak, Kevin, and Jeremy Diamond. “Rifts Between Biden and Netanyahu Spill Into Public View.” CNN, 12 Dec. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/biden-israel-losing-support-netanyahu/index.html.

Miller, Zeke. “US Is Running Out of Money for Ukraine, White House Warns | AP News.” AP News, 5 Dec. 2023, apnews.com/article/biden-ukraine-congress-military-assistance-economy-557cbced7f7c1242ea08c52dadefc33b.

Shivaram, Deepa. “The White House Is Asking for Almost $106 Billion for Israel, Ukraine and the Border.” NPR, 26 Oct. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/10/20/1206301577/biden-ukraine-israel-congress-funding-request.

Taylor, Paul. “The Threat From Russia Is Not Going Away. Europe Has to Get Serious About Its Own Defence.” The Guardian, 12 July 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/jul/10/russia-threat-europe-defence-military

Zengerle, Patricia. “Zelenskiy Cancels Plan to Address US Lawmakers, Fate of Aid in Balance.” Reuters, 5 Dec. 2023, www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-speaker-wants-more-info-ukraine-border-measures-before-approving-aid-2023-12-05.

Zengerle, Patricia, and Makini Brice. “US House Passes Republicans’ Israel-only Aid Bill, Faces Dead End in Senate.” Reuters, 3 Nov. 2023, www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-passes-republicans-israel-aid-bill-faces-dead-end-senate-2023-11-02.