US Senate Committee supports Pentagon bill to allocate $1 billion to help Ukraine
Mitch McConnell (Photo: facebook.com/mitchmcconnell)

The US Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the Pentagon's military spending bill for fiscal year 2026, which includes about $1 billion to support Ukraine. This was reported by Reuters.

The total defense budget amounted to $852 billion, which is $21.7 billion (2.6%) more than the White House had requested. The bill was supported by 26 votes to three, and was approved by both Democrats and Republicans, including supporters of US President Donald Trump .

"Not only the previous administration, but the current administration has also underestimated the level of challenges we face," said Senator Mitch McConnell, who chairs the Defense Subcommittee.

Out of the $1 billion, $800 million is earmarked for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and another $225 million will be allocated to the Baltic Security Initiative. However, a significant portion of these funds will still ultimately be directed to support Ukraine.

"I would say that support for Ukraine is a billion dollars," said Chris Coons, a Democratic representative on the defense spending subcommittee .

It is noted that Trump's budget request and the defense appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier did not provide any funding for USAI, which allocates funds for intelligence, training, equipment and materials for Ukraine.

McConnell and Coons emphasize that the United States is learning from Ukraine's experience, strengthening its own defense capabilities.

"Severing cooperation with Ukraine would undermine our military's efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield," McConnell said.

  • on July 28, the Defense Minister reported that Ukraine and the United States are preparing new important projects in defense cooperation.
  • On July 30, the WSJ reported that Republicans have developed a plan, that would allow Europeans to buy weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It envisages the creation of a fund in the US Treasury Department to receive funds from allies.
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