US Senate talks to unblock new aid for Ukraine advance - media

This is reported by the Hill.

"Despite many of the lawmakers saying they were making progress on border negotiations, they remain split on when a deal will actually come to fruition," the report reads.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said that a potential agreement on the border issue could be agreed upon as early as this week.

"That’s what I’m really very hopeful for, and I think we’re gonna see something next week, and we’ll stay there until we get it done," the lawmaker added.

Democratic Senators Chris Coons, Chris Van Hollen, and Republican John Cornyn also expressed their assessment that the negotiations have made significant progress.

At the same time, Senator Lindsey Graham said that he expects the negotiations to continue next year, as, according to him, the parties are no closer to a common solution.

The outlet notes that if the Senate and the White House were to reach an agreement on the border, "it would likely face an uphill battle in the House as some Republicans have signaled they may want stronger border provisions than what the Democratic-led White House and Senate will propose."

What is known about the US Congress' vote on additional aid to Ukraine

On December 4, the White House said that without a congressional decision, it would run out of money to provide weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russia by the end of the year.

After that, the Congress issued an ultimatum to US President Joe Biden regarding assistance to Ukraine: House Speaker Mike Johnson threatened to withdraw support for funding for Kyiv unless the White House agreed to strengthen border security. 

On December 6, US President Joe Biden addressed Congress and called for the defense of freedom and to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine. Despite this, the Senate failed a procedural vote to begin work on a bill to provide $106 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. 

On December 8, media reported that the US administration was considering including funding for anti-migration measures in the south of the country in the bill to ensure a Republican vote in Congress.

On December 15, the White House drew attention to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's recent statements about his intentions in Ukraine and urged Congress not to delay the approval of new aid for Ukraine.

Also, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said that the United States Senate had postponed the Christmas recess that was supposed to begin next week.