US House Lawmakers Urge Colleagues to Back Ukraine Aid & Border Security Bill

The US Senate earlier passed the $95 billion foreign aid bill, which includes $60 billion for Washington's military assistance to Kiev, but excludes domestic border policy reforms.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has called on other members of the US lower chamber to support a recently unveiled bill that includes Washington’s military aid for Kiev in addition to America's border security policy.

In a "Dear Colleague" letter obtained by The Hill, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrat Jared Golden specifically noted that Ukrainian soldiers are "rare running out of ammunition and withdrawing from the East, paving the way for Russia’s further advance," which is "a direct result of Congress’ gridlock."

"They have proven that when equipped with American arms and ammunition, they [the Ukrainian servicemen] can win this struggle. We know that without them, they may fail," the letter read.

This comes after Fitzpatrick and Golden introduced a new $66.32 billion spending bill last week called the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act.

They said in a statement that "this legislation would require the suspension of entry of inadmissible aliens to achieve operational control over US borders, require immigration officers to detain and immediately expel inadmissible aliens, and provide $66.32 billion in defense-only funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.'' The largest chunk of money - $47.69 billion - will be allocated to support Ukraine, according to the bill.

The document aims to break the impasse over the $95 billion Senate bill, which included money for Ukraine and other foreign policy priorities but did not include the negotiated bipartisan border agreement with provisions to increase border security.

Meanwhile, US media reported that the new bill "may lose some momentum" as it was released just before the House left for a nearly two-week recess. The lower chamber is due to return on February 28.

The developments follow the Senate's blocking of a larger $118 billion package that included border policy measures alongside foreign and national security funding.

Earlier in the day, White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters that US funding for Kiev has been halted until Congress approves a request for new packages.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that the support of the US and its allies for Ukraine will not alter the course of the Russia's special military operation but will only exacerbate the conflict.