Republican leader urges Senate to support Ukraine aid package.

US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has called for support for the supplemental funding package that includes assistance to Ukraine in order to maintain the US' leading role in the world.

Source: European Pravda, Mitch McConnell's website

Details: McConnell said that the vote for supplemental aid in the Senate is "a test of American resolve, our readiness, and our willingness to lead", while the cost of defeat is "abundantly clear".

Quote: "Failure to help Ukraine stand against Russian aggression now means inviting escalation against our closest treaty allies and trading partners. It means greater risk that American forces would become involved in conflict. It means more costly deployments of our military, and steeper military requirements to defend against aggression," he stressed.

The Senate Republican leader also used the speech to debunk the arguments of opponents of aid to Ukraine.

McConnell stressed that the funding provided by the package is not "a distraction from China", but rather allows for the modernisation of the US defence industrial base for long-term competition with China.

"Second, supplemental investments have expanded our capacity to produce critical munitions," the US Senator added.

The third argument of the Republican leader in the Senate is that US funding pushes European allies to strengthen their own defences.

"Across Europe, the acceleration of defence spending is outpacing our own. And right now, allies and partners from Europe to the Indo-Pacific have contracted more than $100 billion dollars worth of cutting-edge American weapons and capabilities," McConnell said.

He concluded that the "hesitation and short-sightedness" that delayed the adoption of supplemental funding "is premised on sheer fiction."

"Make no mistake: delay in providing Ukraine the weapons to defend itself has strained the prospects of defeating Russian aggression. Dithering and hesitation have compounded the challenges we face," the US Senator said.

Previously: A vote in the Senate, which will be the next step in approving funding for Ukraine, is scheduled for 23 April.

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