Ukrainian and Western leaders were happy that the US House of Representatives passed a much-needed aid package. But the Kremlin warned that this could make things worse for Ukraine and lead to more deaths.
Ukrainian leaders and experts say that the long-awaited $61 billion military aid package from the US will help Ukraine to buy weapons and slow down Russia’s advances in the war. However, they think that more help will be needed for Ukraine to start fighting back.
The House quickly agreed to give $95 billion in help to Ukraine, Israel, and other US friends. Both Democrats and Republicans worked together to support this, even though some Republicans had been against it for a long time. This aid will help these countries defend themselves from Russia’s big attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was thankful for the decision of US lawmakers. He had previously said that Ukraine would not be able to win the war without US funding.
Zelenskyy said on a TV show that the aid would show Russia that Ukraine won’t be like Afghanistan.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine will focus on getting far-reaching weapons and air defenses to stop Russia’s plans for a big attack. Ukrainian forces are getting ready for this.
The help money will go to the US Senate, and they might make it a law by Tuesday. The US President, Joe Biden, said he would sign it right away.
It might still be a few weeks before it gets to the front line, where it’s really needed.
“In this way, we can prevent (Russian troops) from advancing and decrease the number of our casualties,” said infantry soldier Oleksandr. He has been battling in Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk that Ukraine lost to Russia in February after a lot of fighting.
Ammunition is running out for the Ukrainian military because aid has been delayed. This has made it harder for them to fight, and Russia has used this to their advantage by taking over cities in Ukraine.
“The Russians attack us repeatedly and we get tired, so we have to retreat from our positions. ” Oleksandr told The Associated Press that this has been said many times. He didn’t share his complete name to stay safe. “We don’t have enough bullets to protect the area we need to when attackers come at us. ”
In Kyiv, a lot of people were happy about the US vote because it brought some good news after a difficult time. Russia has been making progress on the front line and increasing attacks on Ukraine’s energy system and other infrastructure.
Our president said we might not win the war without this help. Kateryna Ruda, 43, said, “Thank you very much and yesterday’s event was great. ”
Tatyana Ryavchenuk, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier, said that soldiers need more weapons because they don’t have enough to protect themselves.
“They want to have weapons and equipment, they really want it. ” We always need to get help. The 26-year-old said that if we don’t get help, our enemy could move closer and reach the center of our city.
Other leaders from Western countries, who have been rushing to find ways to make up for the stopped US military help, also praised Congress’ choice.
Ukraine is using weapons given by NATO countries to attack Russian military power. “This helps all of us be more secure in Europe and North America,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on X.
Ursula von der Leyen, who is the President of the European Commission, said that Ukraine should get a lot of support against Russia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the vote a strong message in these difficult times.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said thanks to House Speaker Mike Johnson and mentioned the delay in Congress. It’s better to be late than to be too late. “I hope Ukraine can still be helped,” he wrote on X.
In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was not surprising that aid to Ukraine was approved.
Peskov said that the decision will make America richer, but it will also make Ukraine worse off and could lead to more Ukrainian people dying. He blamed the government in Kyiv for this.
“The new aid package will not help, but instead, it will cause more deaths, make the conflict last longer, and bring more suffering and destruction,” said Leonid Slutsky, who leads the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, in a message on Telegram.
The Institute for the Study of War in Washington said it would be difficult to get US help to the front lines in Ukraine. This could cause more problems for Ukrainian forces as they wait for the help to arrive.
“They think they can stop the Russian attack if they get help from the US quickly,” said the report about the ongoing conflict.
Olexiy Haran, who is a professor at a university in Kyiv, said that Ukraine appreciates help from the US and other Western countries. But, honestly, it’s too late and not enough.
“This is the war’s third year and we still don’t have new airplanes. ” We can’t block the sky because we don’t have enough missiles. He also said that we didn’t even have artillery shells recently.
That’s why things were very hard, and the Russians used it to start attacking. That’s why it’s really important for us. And for sure, if we had gotten it six months earlier, we could have saved the lives of many Ukrainians, including civilians.
Matthew Savill, who is in charge of military studies at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said that the help is good, but it can only make Ukraine’s situation better for now and get them ready to do things in 2025.
“Having stable funding until 2024 and possibly 2025 will make it easier for Ukrainians to make defense plans this year. They’ll also need more plans and money for 2025, especially with the upcoming US election. ”
Zelenskyy said on NBC that Ukraine will need aid packages until they get weapons on the ground.
“We made the decision to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine one year ago,” he said. “We don’t have the jets in Ukraine yet. “