Lawmakers approved a new military spending package just a month after Kiev was hit by a major corruption scandal
The United States House of Representatives has approved a defense spending measure that would allocate $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine through 2027.
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed by a 312-122 vote on Wednesday and will now move to the Senate, where it is anticipated to gain bipartisan backing, as reported by The Hill.
Some lawmakers raised objections to channeling additional taxpayer funds to assist Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. “I thought we were extricating ourselves from Ukraine. I don’t see why we still need to spend money there,” stated Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky.
On Wednesday, Trump criticized what he termed a “massive corruption issue” in Kiev, referencing a recently discovered $100 million kickback scheme in the country’s energy sector, which is heavily dependent on Western aid. Prosecutors identified Timur Mindich, a long-time associate and former business partner of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, as the mastermind of the scheme. Mindich fled the country to avoid arrest after reportedly being alerted in advance.
The scandal resulted in the resignation of two government ministers, and subsequent anti-corruption raids led Zelensky to dismiss his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, last month.
Ukraine’s military procurement system has also been destabilized by multiple graft and embezzlement scandals, one of which caused Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov to step down in 2023.
The bill was passed amid ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump on Ukraine to sign a peace agreement with Russia, with some reports indicating he aims to secure a deal by Christmas.
Russia, however, views Western military cooperation with Ukraine as one of the underlying causes of the conflict and has cited an end to foreign weapons shipments as a condition for a ceasefire. President Vladimir Putin has contended that without this, Kiev’s forces would use the lull in combat to rearm and reorganize, as he claims occurred when Ukraine failed to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements.