White House considers combining military aid to Ukraine and Israel

According to reports, lawmakers in both parties who support additional aid for Ukraine have suggested the approach as a potential way to secure funding for Kyiv despite opposition from some Republican members in the House and the Senate.

A group of House conservatives has steadfastly opposed new funding for Ukraine, which the White House has requested, and the issue is sure to be a factor in the GOP conference’s high-stakes leadership elections this week. Additional aid for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on Israelis is seen as less likely to face such a struggle in Congress.

According to a representative of the U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, the White House is evaluating the political viability of linking aid for Ukraine and Israel.

The National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, Adm. John Kirby, said Monday, “Both are important, and we are a large enough, big enough, economically viable and vibrant enough country to be able to support both.”

While the US has already provided Israel with emergency military assistance, the White House expects that additional efforts will require approval from Congress.

These discussions have arisen because Biden signed a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. However, it did not include any funding for Ukraine.

Thanks to strong support from the Democratic Party and significant backing from the Republican Party, there is a broad consensus between the two parties regarding providing aid to both Israel and Ukraine.

U.S. assistance to Ukraine and Israel

The U.S. has been actively supporting Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. However, Congress recently did not include funding for Ukraine in the temporary budget, and this issue will be considered separately.

There were reports in the media about the Biden administration's intentions to allocate a record $100 billion package to Ukraine. A similar package was also reported by The Wall Street Journal, where senators from both parties expressed their support for such aid.

Regarding Israel, it is known that the U.S. is deploying its aircraft carrier group to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Hamas terrorists' attacks on Israel. Additionally, according to an unnamed American official, the United States will deploy more than 20 aircraft to the Mediterranean region, including F-35 and F-15 fighter jets. There have also been reports of intelligence exchanges between the two countries.