U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) said on July 30 he intends to propose legislation that would serve as a bridge to deliver arms to Ukraine in the near-term while new equipment is being built over the long-term to continue the country’s efforts against Russia.
“President Trump has made clear that he will not tolerate Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin’s continued targeting of civilians in Ukraine,” Sen. Wicker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. “The death and destruction must end, but Putin will not stop unless it is made clear to him that there is no path to success and that continued war will lead to massive costs for him and Russia.”
The PEACE Act, which Sen. Wicker introduced with U.S. Sen. James Risch (R-ID), would support Trump’s efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, push back on Russian aggression, ensure America’s allies are paying their fair share to end the conflict, and give the U.S. and its NATO allies an additional option to deliver military aid to Ukraine.
“The PEACE Act enables our European partners to finance replenishments so that the U.S. military can continue to draw down packages of weapons to Ukraine,” Sen. Wicker said. “This is the fastest way to arm Ukraine, as well as to minimize the strategic and military threat posed by Russia to the U.S. and NATO.
The PEACE Act, which has not yet been published in the Congressional Record, “shows Putin that neither escalation nor attrition will allow him to achieve his war aims,” the senator added.
Additionally, the bill aims to build on the successful NATO summit held this summer that produced a historic agreement to increase NATO defense spending and revitalize alliance burden sharing by creating a fund at the U.S. Treasury that would allow allies to deposit money to replenish U.S. military equipment donated to Ukraine, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Wicker’s staff.