US Senators introduce bill authorizing president to conclude Ukraine deals

A bipartisan group of US Senators introduced a bill that would authorize the President to make lend-lease agreements with Ukraine and provide the country with lethal weapons, Senator John Cornyn said.

"This legislation would allow us to once again serve as the arsenal of democracy and provide Ukraine with lethal weapons against the Russian threat to its sovereignty," Cornyn said in a statement on Tuesday.

The bill, dubbed The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, authorizes the US President to lend defense items necessary to defend the civilian population in Ukraine. The measure also requires expediting delivery procedures for military equipment to Ukraine.

"Our bipartisan bill streamlines the tools available to the president as he works to bolster Ukraine's defense and protect innocent civilians, in an effort to lessen the likelihood that Russia will use its troops against its neighbor," Senator Democrat Ben Cardin, a co-author of the bill, said.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed the United States' allegations that it is preparing to invade Ukraine, pointing instead to the actual threat posed by NATO's military activity in the region. The Kremlin has said Russia has no intention to attack any country and views the accusations against it as a pretext for deploying additional NATO equipment and infrastructure close to Russia's borders.