The decision on the bill, which also includes funds to help keep Ukraine’s government running, came after airstrikes hit several major cities last week, including Chernihiv and Dnipro, killing dozens of people. Ukraine, which also lacks air defense assets, said the strikes could have been avoided if it had better supplies.
Meanwhile, on the front lines in the east of the country, Russian forces have also advanced towards the strategic town of Chasiv Yar, outside Bakhmut, which fell to Russia last year. Ukrainian troops have complained for many months that they are rationing their shells because they lack essential ammunition, making it impossible to repel the Russians – let alone prevent their advance.
The U.S. Senate will still need to vote on the bill before it goes to President Biden for his signature. But Ukraine and its supporters have now cleared the biggest hurdle in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused for months to put the aid up for a vote. His reversal sparked fury among far-right members of Congress who oppose sending more aid to Ukraine and threatened to oust him if he pursued the vote.
“The Ukrainian people are sincerely grateful to the US Congress,” said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office. posted on after Saturday’s vote.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who recently stepped up efforts to obtain more Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, written the this Saturday marked “a bad day for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”.
“A bad day for anyone who dared to believe America might falter when it comes to standing up for what it stands for and what it stands for,” he wrote.
Ukraine has said it will need 26 Patriot systems to cover the entire country. It only has three, and Germany recently committed to sending another. Kuleba is pushing his European partners to hand over their Patriots, insisting they are needed more in Ukraine than in the European Union.
Ukraine’s calls intensified this week after the United States and other partners helped deflect a massive Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel, engaging in ways it refused to do in Ukraine. kyiv viewed the intervention as establishing a double standard, made all the more frustrating by the fact that the aid package was also delayed on the Hill.
European leaders echoed Ukraine’s thanks on the House floor Saturday, with some suggesting months of delays were unnecessary.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanked Johnson on, then writes: “Better late than too late. And I hope it is not too late for Ukraine.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who had urged Congress to act on the bill, said he welcomed the vote. “Ukraine will benefit from the transatlantic support it needs to resist Russian aggression. » he wrote about.
Charles Michel, President of the Council of the EU said the vote “Sends a clear message to the Kremlin: those who believe in freedom and the United Nations Charter will continue to support Ukraine and its people.”
Katarina Mathernova, EU Ambassador to Ukraine, wrote that the adoption of the bill was “Much needed good news for all Ukrainians!!!! »
“Historic decisions change history,” wrote Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. “Nice to see you again, America. »
Reactions from Moscow were much more critical.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted in Russian state media Tass as saying the aid “will further enrich the United States of America and ruin Ukraine even more, killing even more people.” ‘Ukrainians because of the Kiev regime’.
Still, support for the vote was echoed across much of Europe, and Ukrainian lawmakers added to the chorus of gratitude.
Kira Rudik, who belongs to the liberal Holos party, posted on: “Oh my God, on behalf of the Ukrainian people; THANK YOU!!!!”
MP Oleksandra Ustinova wrote this American “this support will save lives in Ukraine.”
Opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko, who traveled to Washington to try to drum up support for the vote, urged the world without forgetting that Russia’s military budget still far exceeds that of Ukraine. “Today we have won time, not war,” he wrote. “We’ll have to finish the job.”
He added that it “would be great” if another message came from Washington at the NATO summit in July. “Invite Ukraine to NATO” he wrote. “It will be decisive.”
Inna Sovsun, also from the Holos party, wrote on X that “Ukraine is very grateful! »
She added: “Just one question: Was it necessary to wait six months to vote? How many lives could have been saved?
Reached by text message Saturday evening, a Ukrainian soldier fighting on the front lines in the country’s south said he and his comrades did not watch the vote live. “There are other things (to watch out for),” he wrote with a smiling face. He then shared footage of his unit dropping bombs on a Russian artillery position.
washingtonpost
