Biden, who had urged Congress since last year to approve the additional aid to Ukraine, said in a statement:
“It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude, saying U.S. lawmakers moved to keep
“history on the right track.”
The legislation now proceeds to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago. U.S. leaders from Democratic President Joe Biden to top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell had been urging embattled Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote.
The Senate is expected to pass the measure next week, sending it to Biden to sign into law.
EC’s head urges Senate to vote as soon as possible
We appeal to the U.S. Senate to vote on the aid package for Ukraine as soon as possible, wrote the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the social media platform X, commenting on the decision of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding aid to Ukraine.
“I welcome the overwhelming positive vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ukraine deserves all the support it can get against Russia. We now call on the U.S. Senate to vote as soon as possible because lives are at stake. Transatlantic allies are united in support for freedom and democracy,” wrote Von der Leyen on X.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, spoke in a similar spirit. “I welcome the vote in the United States House of Representatives approving a long-awaited crucial $61 bln aid package for Ukraine.
This is a clear signal to the Kremlin - those who believe in freedom and the United Nations Charter will continue to support Ukraine and its nation,” he wrote on X.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also expressed satisfaction.
“Ukraine will receive the transatlantic support it needs to counter Russian aggression,” he said.
First arm deliveries to arrive within two weeks: media
The consequences of the U.S. adopting a new aid package for Ukraine will be almost immediate, preventing major battlefield setbacks in the near term and undermining Russia’s long-term belief that its war economy, which devotes at least 6% GDP for defense is an unstoppable machine, wrote The Economist daily on Sunday.
In total, the U.S. plans to spend almost $61 bln to help Ukraine. A significant part of this amount will be used to replenish U.S. military stocks, which will enable the transfer of more to Ukraine and the purchase of new weapons and ammunition from U.S. defense companies. An American three-star general has already been assigned the task of organizing arms supplies, wrote The Economist.
The Pentagon should be able to start delivering missiles to Ukraine within two weeks, The Economist reported. Michael Kofman from the Carnegie Endowment’s advisory team emphasizes that
Washington can provide Kyiv with enough ammunition for about a year. Larger weapons systems will take much longer to ship; some still need to be ordered, let alone produced.
“We hope that this will be enough to repel the Russian offensive, which Ukraine expects in June,” Kofman adds.
The Washington Post also cited an anonymous official from Joe Biden’s administration as saying that after the president signs the bill,
it will take the Pentagon less than a week to deliver the weapons to Ukraine, depending on where they are stored.
