The appeal ofUkraine collected by the USA and the United Kingdom, with the definitive approval for a substantial aid package, the country that has been at war for two years is preparing to respond to the Russian offensive. According to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Newsweek reports, Ukraine will receive more than half a billion dollars in new British military aid that aims to help Kiev repel the Russian invasion by land and sea. Ahead of Tuesday’s visit to Poland to discuss European security with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Sunak announced the £500 million ($618 million) package of new support for Kiev, which increases British aid to Ukraine this financial year to 3 billion pounds (3.71 dollars). billion).
The British package comes just after the US House of Representatives finally passed a $60 billion military aid bill after months of discussions. The agreement, after yesterday’s approval in the Senate, is expected to be signed immediately by President Joe Biden, worried about stopping Russia’s momentum. As Western support for Kiev’s forces increases, the Ukrainian military command must «start thinking seriously about the counteroffensive and the reconquest of their land»Ukrainian analyst Viktor Kovalenko told Newsweek.
THE WEAPON
Sunak’s office said yesterday, Tuesday 23 April, that the latest funding will be used to rapidly deliver munitions, air defence, drones and technical support. The drones will be bought in the UK and the funds will support an increase in national defense supply chains, Sunak’s office said, with the UK Ministry of Defense sending «our biggest equipment package ever from the UK». The package contains: 60 boats, including offshore raid boats, rigid raid boats, dive boats, sea guns. Over 1,600 attack and air defense missiles, long-range and precision-guided Storm Shadow missiles, 160 “Husky” protected mobility vehicles, 162 armored vehicles, 78 off-road vehicles. Four million rounds of ammunition. Storm Shadow long-range precision-guided missiles have already proven effective in targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Crucially, the package will include 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition, which Ukrainian forces badly need.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement that the «record military aid package» will help Ukraine to «oust Putin and restore peace and stability in Europe. The UK was the first to supply NLAW missiles, the first to supply modern tanks and the first to send long-range missiles»he has declared. «Now we will go even further».
THE TURNING POINT
The American push is fundamental. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that following the House’s approval of US aid, «everything was decided in the ATACMS negotiations for Ukraine», referring to the U.S. Army’s tactical missile system, which can hit targets up to about 186 miles away. Kovalenko, a Ukrainian combat veteran from 2014 to 2015, said that despite Western support, «time is definitely on Russia’s side to cut off Donbas, and they have the manpower to do it». And now with the US aid package, «the Ukrainian military command must start thinking seriously about the counteroffensive and the reconquest of its land. If Kiev is unable to do so this year, or at least recapture just a few villages, President Zelensky will have to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin to save Ukraine as a state, at least in its existing form». CNN also highlights the approval by the Senate’s long-delayed $95 billion package «with broad bipartisan support, after both sides of Capitol Hill struggled for months to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan». The final vote was 79-18. Fifteen Republicans voted against the bill along with three Democrats. Forty-eight Democrats and 31 Republicans voted for the bill. Transformation into law by today, with the signature of President Joe Biden.
Its approval represents a significant victory for the president of the United States, the Democratic leader of Congress and the Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell, who has long pushed to send aid to Ukraine even as the right wing of his party increasingly hardens more in support for Kiev. Shortly before the final passage, CNN reports, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began his brief speech with «finally, finally, finally. Tonight, may Vladimir Putin rue the day he questioned American resolve», he said. The package combines four bills that the House voted on separately in a rare session on Saturday, providing nearly $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, more than $26 billion for Israel and more than $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific.
THE PACKAGE
The first three bills are very similar to the package passed by the Senate earlier this year, which House Speaker Mike Johnson originally declined to bring to the House floor. The fourth bill increases sanctions on Russian goods and contains terms that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States. Chinese parent company ByteDance gives about nine months to sell TikTok, or the app will be banned from American app stores. Biden applauded the Senate’s passage of the legislation in a written statement. «I will sign this bill and address the American people as soon as it hits my desk so we can start sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week»Biden said. «The need is urgent: for Ukraine, which faces Russia’s incessant bombing; for Israel, which has just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and people affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including Gaza, Sudan and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific». The president also thanked Schumer, McConnell and the bipartisan group of lawmakers who voted for the bill. «This critical legislation will make our nation and world safer as we support our friends defending themselves from terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin»Biden said.
THE SCENERY
The House passed the legislation after Johnson objected to conservatives in his party who opposed sending aid to Ukraine and threatened to oust him over his handling of the issue. Ultimately, the legislation was defeated by the House by a wide bipartisan margin. Aid for Ukraine and Israel had been blocked after Republicans in the House and Senate called for action on border security first, leading to months of negotiations in the Senate over a border package tied to foreign aid. However, former President Donald Trump led the opposition toward the final deal, and Republicans ultimately scrapped it. McConnell, who has consistently broken with his party over support for Ukraine, described Tuesday’s vote as «late» And «a test, and we must not fail it. Here’s what I know to be true: American prosperity and security are the product of decades of American leadership»McConnell said. «Our global interests arise from global responsibilities. Healthy alliances lighten the burden of these responsibilities». Schumer took a victory lap after passing foreign aid legislation. «You can get things done, and I hope our Republican colleagues have learned the lesson of not listening to the far right, but trying to work and get things done»the New York Democrat said at a news conference. «Tonight I left a message for President Zelensky – he called me the other day – and I said “All right, we’re done. Now go win the battle”», Schumer said. When pressed on how long the funding to Ukraine will last and when he believes they will have to come back for more, Schumer said: «It’s a very complete package».
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the Senate’s approval of the foreign aid package. «I am grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine»he said in a post Tuesday on
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