US Senate Approves $500 Million in Security Assistance for Ukraine

The US Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to authorize $500 million in security assistance for Ukraine for Fiscal Year 2026 under a draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA.) 

The funding is a part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which was created in 2015 to provide DoD security assistance to Ukraine’s military, intelligence support, training, logistics, and supplies.

The Hill reports that the vote passed the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday with a vote of 26 in favor and one against, and increases the USAI from $300 million to $500 million.

The bill will still need to pass Congress, overcoming opposition in the House and Senate before being signed by US President Donald Trump.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had threatened to slash the USAI budget last month, and in July, it was announced that Hegseth had again ordered a freeze in the delivery of certain key weapons to Ukraine, such as precision-guided artillery and Patriot air defense systems, without notifying the Whitehouse.

The decision was later reversed by Trump.

A Drop in the Bucket

The USAI is a much smaller portion of the overall aid to Ukraine, much of which has come from larger bills passed by Biden through Congress, such as the $61 billion Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriation Act of 2024.

Overall, the US authorized $174.2 billion through five “supplemental” appropriations acts between 2022 and 2024, according to figures from the Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve, a US government watchdog created to monitor US assistance to Ukraine.

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These larger supplemental packages passed in 2022, 2023, and 2024 allowed the US to replace military equipment that it had sent to Ukraine from existing stockpiles, provided loans and grants for Ukraine and other allies to buy weapons and munitions from the US, and made billions of investments in enhancing the US defense industrial base.

The Trump administration has yet to request a larger package through Congress, but still has several billion dollars in presidential drawdown authority (PDA) passed under President Joe Biden that he could draw on to resupply and arm Ukraine.

Trump, who campaigned against further aid to Ukraine as “Biden’s War”, reportedly reached a deal on Thursday for NATO to purchase US weapons for Ukraine, including a Patriot battery (which costs $1 billion). Trump will tap the PDA authorities for the first time in his second term, according to Reuters.

Michael Kofman, an American defense analyst born in Ukraine, noted the rationale for Trump’s reticence in a recent episode of the War on the Rocks Podcast.

“Trump keeps saying, this is Biden’s war that he inherited, and if he starts using Presidential Drawdown Authority and starts sending more equipment and weapons, then policy-wise, it also becomes the Trump administration’s war.”

Kofman believes that Ukraine may face challenges in operational planning by the end of this year if more support is not requested from Congress by the US President.

Filling the Gaps

Europe has also sought to step in to fill the void about financing Ukraine’s defense following uncertainty about the future of US military and financial support for Ukraine.

Last month at the NATO conference, European leaders announced a large increase in their domestic military spending to meet NATO defense budget targets, and yesterday at the Ukrainian Recovery Conference, billions in financial support for Ukraine’s reconstruction were announced.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, a bill written by Senators Lindsey Graham (R - SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to increase sanctions on Russia and countries that buy Russian oil, gas, and minerals has over 84 sponsors.

Trump, who has grown increasingly impatient with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has teased a big annoucement on Monday in his Ukraine policy. Trump has hinted at support for the bill, but has stipulated that “It’s a bill that the Senate is passing that very respectfully lets the president do whatever he wants, as you know.”

The bill in its current form envisions tariffs as high as 500% on Russia and countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, and minerals, including China, India, and Turkey.

But the likelihood of a 500% tariff on any of these trading partners is unclear after Trump backed down from much lower trade tariffs earlier this year with China, Europe, and other global trade partners, after it rattled global financial markets.