Why in my script I am unable to put multiline text changelog entry upon debian?

#!/usr/bin/env bash

CHANGELOG="Changelog.md"
DEBIAN_CHANGELOG="debian/changelog"
UPSTREAM_VERSION=$(cat VERSION)

# Updating entries in rpm files

DEB_RELEASE_NOTES=$(awk '{print "  * " $0}'   Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:08:00 +0200

1. Split codebase into multiple files.
2. Use a seperate version file and define built version upon compile.
4. [BUGFIX] If input file is same as output file copy input file into a temporary one.
5. Improved Documentation