Democratic Party, which dominates the U.S. Congress, seeks 20 trillion won in support for Ukraine and strengthened sanctions on Russia

The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 7th (local time) that the Democratic Party, which took control of the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm elections, is pushing for measures to expand support for Ukraine and strengthen sanctions against Russia.

According to a Democratic aide to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the size of the new Ukraine security assistance package is expected to be around $15 billion (about 20.4 trillion won).

The Democratic Party plans to secure as much support as possible for Ukraine even before the inauguration of the new Congress in January next year.

The plan is to include Ukraine-related provisions, such as energy support, interceptor missiles, and intelligence support, in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which must be passed before the end of the current Congress.

Energy support is an urgent need for Ukraine due to Russia's intensive attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Additionally, there is an absolute shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles needed to defend against Russian attacks.

After the inauguration of the new parliament, it is expected that sanctions against Russia will be strengthened in earnest.

The Democratic Party is considering revising the Russia Sanctions Act, named after the late former Senator Lindsey Graham, as a priority.

This law includes mandatory financial sanctions on Russia's defense industry and energy sector. However, President Trump excluded Russia from additional sanctions last month.

The Democratic Party is expected to revise the law to limit President Trump's exercise of such broad sanctions exemption rights.

However, since the Democratic Party has not secured two-thirds of the seats in the Senate and House of Representatives to override the president's veto, cooperation from the Republican Party is also needed.

In addition, the Democratic Party plans to strengthen supervision of Elon Musk's satellite Internet service Starlink.

Starlink, which is used as the Ukrainian military's core communication network, experienced an unexplained speed problem last month, which hindered its ability to block Russian attacks.

Previously, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee notified Musk to preserve all documents related to Starlink's slowdown.

The Democratic Party is also pushing for an investigation into the Trump administration's foreign policy and the business interests of President Trump's associates.

In particular, the businesses of Steve Witkoff, who served as President Trump's special envoy in the Ukraine-Iran negotiations, and the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to be included in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said regarding the newly inaugurated U.S. Congress, "I hope to resume discussions on providing strong financial support or weapons to Ukraine."

However, some cautious voices are being raised within Ukraine that even if congressional power is transferred to the Democratic Party, there are limits to fundamental change as leadership in U.S. foreign policy still lies with President Trump.