What the US Senate's $40 billion vote signalled for Ukraine
A look back at the Senate aid vote of 19 May 2022 and the warning from Russia's president days earlier over NATO's northern expansion.
What did the US Senate decide on the eve of 20 May 2022, and how did it fit with the wider diplomatic picture? On 19 May 2022, the Senate voted 86–11 to pass a $40 billion package aimed at sending aid to Ukraine. The legislation was due to go to US President Joe Biden for his signature.
The margin of the vote stands out: 86 senators in favour against 11 opposed. For Kyiv, the scale of the package placed foreign support at the centre of the country's economic and military position during the war.
The vote came against a sharper security backdrop in Europe. On 16 May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would react to what he called the "expansion of military infrastructure" by NATO in Sweden and Finland. He said problems were being created for no reason at all and that Russia would react accordingly.
Taken together, the two developments show how Ukraine's war was shaping decisions well beyond its borders: one a large financial commitment from Washington, the other a warning from Moscow about NATO's northern neighbours.
