PuUS President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands across the table during a meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, US September 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Published 25, 2024
A sweeping foreign aid package easily passed the US Congress late on Tuesday after months of delay, clearing the way for billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding amid advances from Russia’s invasion force and Kyiv’s shortages of military supplies.
The Senate approved by 79 to 18 four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course last week and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and US partners in the Indo-Pacific.
The four bills were combined into one package in the Senate, which President Joe Biden said he would sign into law on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was grateful to US lawmakers for approving “vital” aid for Ukraine.
“This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The largest provides $61 billion in critically needed funding for Ukraine; a second provides $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones around the world, and a third mandates $8.12 billion to “counter communist China” in the Indo-Pacific.
A fourth, which the House added to the package last week, includes a potential ban on the Chinese-controlled social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine and new sanctions on Iran.
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SOURCE: www.english.alarabiya.net
RELATED: Zelenskyy: Ukraine Aid Reinforces US as ‘Beacon of Democracy’
Published April 25, 2024
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday the U.S. Senate’s approval of a multi-billion aid package for Ukraine reinforces America’s role as a “beacon of democracy.”
“I am grateful to the U.S. Senate for approval of vital aid to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
“This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world.”
Ukrainian officials Wednesday expressed thanks for a fresh batch of U.S. military aid that threw Kyiv’s armed forces a lifeline in their more than two-year war with Russia, even though the vital new supplies aren’t expected to have an immediate impact on the battlefield.
Ukrainian troops have faced acute shortages of shells and air defense systems as political quarrels in Washington held up the aid for months, allowing the Kremlin’s forces to edge forward in some parts of eastern Ukraine by sheer weight of troop numbers and firepower in what has largely become a war of attrition.
The U.S. decision came as the Kremlin’s army extended its bombardment of the Kharkiv region and Ukrainian long-range drones struck more fuel and energy facilities inside Russia.
Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. Senate for approving the $61 billion aid package late Tuesday.
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SOURCE: www.newsmax.com
RELATED: Zelenskyy thanks US Senate for long-awaited military aid
Published April 25, 2024
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed gratitude to the United States Senate for approving an aid package to Ukraine.
The Senators approved on Tuesday the aid of more than 60 billion dollars, which President Joe Biden has already promised to sign into law.
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SOURCE: www.nhk.or.jp
