US plans to link military aid to Israel and Ukraine

The administration of US President Joe Biden and members of Congress are considering the option of linking military assistance to Israel with increased funding to Ukraine. The White House has proposed this approach as a potential way to provide funding to Kiev, despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate, The Washington Post (WP) and NBC and CNN reported, citing sources.

Since the start of hostilities in the Middle East on October 7, Tel Aviv has sent several requests for military assistance to Washington, including replenishment of Iron Dome missiles, SDB precision bombs and 12.7 mm cartridges for M2 machine guns, WP sources said. Biden has instructed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to satisfy several requests from the US Army’s availability, but replenishing supplies will require congressional approval, the authors of the article write.

At the same time, providing military equipment to two countries at the same time could increase the load on US arsenals. The Wall Street Journal, citing Pentagon sources, reported on October 2 that the Pentagon has $5.2 billion worth of military materials to help Ukraine – the remainder of the $43.7 billion allocated by Washington to Kiev since the start of hostilities in February 2022.

The issue of providing military and economic assistance to Ukraine has split the Republican Party, although there is an almost unanimous position in it regarding support for Israel, writes WP. Officials and some pro-Ukrainian lawmakers believe combining the two relief packages in one bill could encourage some Republicans to support the initiative. Republicans do not want to block military aid to Tel Aviv, which since October 8 has been at war with Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip for the first time since 1973.

Earlier, White House spokesman John Kirby refused to comment on this plan, but noted that the support of both Ukraine and Israel is “equally important” for Washington. Previously, Congress, 2.5 hours before the shutdown (suspension of government work) on September 30, agreed on a draft budget for 45 days without a section on assistance to Ukraine.

As WP writes, among Republicans there are both opponents and supporters of combining aid packages. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez questioned the possibility of finding another plan if Congress expects to help these countries before the start of the next fiscal year. And his colleague in the House of Representatives, Elise Stefanik, categorically rejected this scheme. According to her, Republicans have enough votes to pass a separate aid package for Israel without Ukraine.

Regardless of the outcome of the debate, it will be difficult for Democrats to advance a military support plan for Israel and Ukraine without electing a new House speaker. The foreign aid bill is being advanced by the Speaker, and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from office by a House vote. One of the main contenders to replace McCarthy, Republican Jim Jordan, opposes arms supplies to Kyiv, while another candidate and fellow party member, Steve Scalise, advocates increasing funding. Speaker elections are scheduled for October 11.

The Biden administration is trying to sit on two chairs, realizing that any initiative to help Israel will pass without problems in Congress, and trying to attach the Ukrainian package to it, notes Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences. For the success of their idea, the Democrats, according to the expert, need to achieve the return to the post of Speaker of the Republican McCarthy, who has stated his desire to compete for this post again. Otherwise, the speaker could be Trumpist Jordan, who heads the influential legal committee and advocates more restrained assistance to Ukraine, the expert noted.

According to Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian government, the United States maintains a special relationship with Israel and in terms of priority, Kyiv cannot compete with Tel Aviv. At the same time, Denisov adds, the conflict in Palestine is the beginning of a trend towards the opening of frozen conflicts around the world, so that in the near future we can expect escalation in other zones – in Taiwan and Cyprus.

As long as Iran is not drawn into the conflict in the Middle East, Washington is able to satisfy the requests of the Israeli military, Vasiliev believes. “Moreover, unlike the Ukrainians, the Israeli military is dealing with militants, and not with a regular army,” the expert concluded.