Following the Republicans' defeat in the US midterm elections, Democrats intend to leverage their control over both chambers of Congress to increase military aid to Ukraine, tighten sanctions against Russia, and strengthen oversight of President Donald Trump's foreign policy, reports the Financial Times.
According to the newspaper, Democrats are considering providing Kiev with a new military aid package of around $15 billion. Priorities include the delivery of interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense systems, intelligence support, sanctions against Russia, and oversight over the operation of the Starlink satellite network. Ukraine uses this network for communication and defense coordination.
Lawmakers plan to include some of the measures in the annual defense policy bill, which is expected to be passed before the current composition of Congress concludes its work. Democrats also aim to revise the sanctions legislation named after Senator Lindsey Graham. Previously, Trump exploited a broad exemption under the sanctions regime to free Moscow from new restrictions following an agreement with Vladimir Putin regarding the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
"We will fix the Graham bill," stated a representative of the Democratic caucus on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In his view, one and a half years of work on sanctions development were effectively nullified by the president's decision.
Democrats also intend to investigate foreign policy decisions made by the Trump administration and potential business interests of his family.
Specifically, they want to examine the activities of special envoys Steve Whitlock and Jared Kushner, who were involved in negotiations concerning Ukraine and Iran.
At the same time, Democrats' capabilities are limited: without support from some Republicans, they cannot override the president's veto. Therefore, supporters of Ukraine hope to attract new allies from Republican ranks, as some senators who previously backed Kiev are leaving Congress.
Ukraine is approaching winter amid Russian strikes on energy infrastructure and a shortage of missiles for Patriot systems.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed hope that the new Congress will resume discussions on financial and military aid. However, Ukrainian representatives do not expect a sharp change in American foreign policy, as key decisions remain under the authority of the US president as before.
