The Biden administration is sending the long-awaited Ukraine strategy report to Congress, Reuters sources say

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has sent Congress a classified report on its strategy for the war in Ukraine, three sources said on Monday, months after a June deadline for a multibillion-dollar spending bill of dollars adopted in April by the parliamentarians.

A congressional aide said the long-awaited report reached lawmakers on Monday and they had not yet had a chance to review it. Two other sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a classified matter, confirmed it had been forwarded. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress has approved nearly $175 billion in aid and military assistance to Ukraine and allied nations in the two and a half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

After months of delay, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a $95 billion supplemental spending bill in April that included $61 billion in funding for Ukraine, as well as billions for Israel, civilians in the conflict around the world and for “countering Communist China. “in the Indo-Pacific.

As part of that bill, Congress required the Biden administration to present a detailed strategy for Ukraine by early June.

Biden’s support for Ukraine is supported by Democrats and many Republicans in Congress. Some Republicans, however, have criticized his administration for restricting how Ukraine can use U.S. equipment, for example by refusing to provide weapons that could hit targets deep in Russia, for fear of escalating the conflict.

Weeks after the deadline passed without a report, some members of Congress said they were frustrated and would consider blocking additional funding.

In an emailed statement to Reuters in late August about the report, Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he supported assistance to Ukraine but did not do so blindly.

“Since the early days of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war against Ukraine, we have asked the Biden-Harris administration for a strategy on how the U.S. and our allies can help Ukraine win the war,” Risch said.

“When they did not respond to our requests, we mandated by law that a strategy be sent to Congress, but the deadline passed with no response. President Biden and VP (Kamala) Harris owe a strategy not just to us, but to the American People, and their abandonment suggests they don’t have one or are afraid to share it.”