The US Congress closes ranks in its support for Ukraine

the recent Russian attack on neighboring Ukrainewith the corresponding rejection of the international community, has taken a position in the United States Congress, which in a bipartisan manner seeks to implement efforts to help the European nation.

“We have NATO allies, like Poland and others, who have said they will be very open to refugees. We should be helping them. That is a great burden for a country and other nations should help them. So I think this is the request: We are working on a general appropriations bill right now, which we hope to have passed by mid-March,” he told voice of americaDemocratic Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Biden Administration launched a sanctions package that mainly affect the Russian President Vladimir Putin, his closest officials and some of the most important banks.

Biden has asked Congress for about $6.5 billion in aid for Ukraine, broken down into military and humanitarian assistance, Kaine notes. The Democratic legislator considers that this support could also be extended to “a Ukrainians who have fled from all over the world to other nations.”

Due to the continuity of the bombings, which are now in their sixth consecutive day, alarms have been raised about the possible commission of crimes against humanity. This Monday, the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reported that decided to open an investigation in Ukraine for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which he will request the required permit for this.

“We are looking for other packages of legislation. For example (…) denounce before the ICC to have a case against Putin as a war criminal”, senator Kaine advanced to FLY. “No leader should be neutral.”

republican support

Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who serves as lead member of the House Appropriations Committee, told FLY who does not know about the project until now: “I still have to see the proposal, the request”. However, he fully supported any action to stop President Putin’s actions.

“I think we have to take all possible measures, all possible sanctions so that Putin becomes the pariah that he is, so that they harm him economically, hurt him in every possible way because what he is doing is unacceptable. Putin is a thug, he is a violent gangster who needs to be stopped in every possible way.”

Diaz-Balart, however, was disappointed, saying “President Biden himself personally lobbied against sanctions against Russia,” referring to what he called “a bipartisan move” prior to the invasion that sought to sanction the Kremlin.

“What we should consider is all possible ways to sanction and prevent Putin from doing what he is doing,” the Republican settled.

rejection of impartiality

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House has condemned the military action and lashed out at the countries that support the Kremlin in its current incursion.

Officials of the Biden Administration have rejected the “impartiality” of some governments in the region regarding the invasion, which is why they already predict that the sanctions against Putin could affect some regional economies in Latin America.

“They have established very strong ties (…) with those entities that are now affected by the sanctions,” he recently told the FLY Jon Piechowski, adviser to the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. “I am sure we will see the impact in the days that follow.”

Regarding the support shown by the rulers of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba for the Russian invasion, Senator Kaine maintains that “nobody is surprised that those nations, which are always walking with Russia, are right now supporting Russia against the people in Ukraine ( …) It is very difficult to support Vladimir Putin in this illegal war.”

[Escrito por Luis Felipe Rojas]

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