Senators ask Trump to give Ukraine $250 mln in security assistance

According to the report, Senators Rob Portman, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Johnson wrote a letter on September 3 to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.

"This funding is crucial to the long term stability of Ukraine and has the continued backing and approval of the U.S. Congress which appropriated these funds. We strongly urge you to direct the Department of Defense to obligate these funds immediately," the letter reads.

"In fact, Ukraine continues to fight daily on its eastern border against Russia-backed separatists in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, and over 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have lost their lives in this war," the senators wrote.

According to them, U.S.-funded security assistance has already helped "turn the tide in this conflict," and it is necessary "to ensure the protection of the sovereign territory of this young country, going forward."

According to the article, the senators wrote the letter after Politico, referring to a senior administration official, reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had asked his national security team to review the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative under which Washington intends to allocate an additional $250 million in security aid to Kyiv.

For the 2019 fiscal year, lawmakers allocated $250 million in security aid to Ukraine, including money for weapons, training, equipment and intelligence support. Specifically, Congress set aside $50 million for weaponry.

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