KYIV, Ukraine — Leaders from Ukraine and the West expressed their support for a much-needed aid package that was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, while the Kremlin warned that the passage of the bill would lead to more harm and casualties in Ukraine.
Ukrainian leaders and experts believe that the long-awaited $61 billion military aid package, which includes $13.8 billion for Ukraine to purchase weapons, will help slow down Russia's gradual advances in the third year of the war. However, they also think that more assistance will be necessary for Kyiv to take the offensive again.
The House quickly passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session. This came after Democrats and Republicans united following a period of strong opposition on the right to renewed American support in countering Russia's full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had previously warned that his country would not be able to win the war without U.S. funding, expressed gratitude for the decision made by U.S. lawmakers.
During an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Zelenskyy stated that the aid package would send a strong message to the Kremlin that Ukraine will not become the next Afghanistan.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine would give priority to long-range weapons and air defenses to disrupt Russia's plans for an anticipated full-scale offensive, for which Ukrainian forces are preparing.
The aid package will now go to the U.S. Senate, where it could be passed as soon as Tuesday. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to promptly sign it into law.
However, it could still take weeks for the aid to reach the front line, where it is urgently needed.
“With this, we can stop (Russian troops) and reduce our losses,” said infantry soldier Oleksandr, who has been involved in fighting around Avdiivka, the city in the Donetsk region that Ukraine lost to Russia in February after months of fierce combat.
The delay in aid over the past six months due to ammunition shortages has forced Ukrainian military commanders to ration shells, placing them at a disadvantage that Russia exploited this year when capturing the city of Avdiivka and currently advancing towards the town of Chasiv Yar, also in Donetsk.
“The Russians attack us in waves, and we become exhausted, causing us to abandon our positions. This happens many times,” said Oleksandr, an infantry soldier speaking to The Associated Press. He chose not to reveal his full name for security reasons. “The shortage of ammunition means we can't cover the area that we are responsible for holding when they are attacking us.”
In Kyiv, many welcomed the U.S. vote as a piece of positive news after a challenging period that has seen Russia gradually make gains along the front line and intensify attacks on Ukraine's energy system and other infrastructure.
“I heard our president clearly say that we could lose the war without this assistance. Thank you very much, and yesterday was a great event,” said 43-year-old Kateryna Ruda.
Tatyana Ryavchenuk, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier, highlighted the necessity for more weapons, expressing sorrow that the soldiers “have nothing to protect us.”
“They need weapons, they need equipment, they need it. We always need assistance, because without it, our enemy can make further progress and reach the center of our city,” said the 26-year-old.
Other leaders from the Western countries, who have been working hard to find ways to replace the halted U.S. military assistance, also praised Congress’ decision.
“Ukraine is using the weapons given by NATO Allies to disable Russian combat abilities. This makes us all safer, in Europe & North America,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg posted on X.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that “Ukraine deserves all the support it can get against Russia,” and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the vote it “a strong signal in these times.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanked House Speaker Mike Johnson, while also noting the holdup in Congress. “Better late than too late. And I hope it is not too late for Ukraine,” he wrote on X.
In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday called the approval of aid to Ukraine “expected and predictable.”
The decision “will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
“The new aid package will not save, but, on the contrary, will kill thousands and thousands more people, prolong the conflict, and bring even more grief and devastation,” Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, wrote on Telegram.
Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War said the logistics of getting U.S. assistance to the front line would mean that “Ukrainian forces may suffer additional setbacks” while waiting for it to arrive.
“But they will likely be able to blunt the current Russian offensive assuming the resumed U.S. assistance arrives promptly,” it said in its latest assessment of the conflict.
Olexiy Haran, professor of comparative politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohlya Academy, said that Ukraine was grateful for aid from the U.S. and other Western countries, “but the problem is, frankly speaking, it’s too late and it’s not enough.”
“This is the third year of the war and we still don’t have aviation, new aviation. We don’t have enough missiles, so we cannot close the skies. Moreover, recently we didn’t have even artillery shells,” he said.
“That’s why the situation was very, very difficult and the Russians used it to start their offensive. So that’s why it is so important for us. And definitely if we’d received it half a year before, we would have saved the lives of many Ukrainians, civilians included.”
Matthew Savill, military sciences director at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said that the aid, while welcome, “can probably only help stabilize the Ukrainian position for this year and begin preparations for operations in 2025.”
“Predictability of funding through 2024 and into 2025 will help the Ukrainians plan the defense this year, especially if European supplies of ammunition also come through, but further planning and funds will be required for 2025, and we have a U.S. election between now and then,” he said.
Responding to a question on NBC about how long Ukraine will still need aid packages, Zelenskyy said “it depends on when we actually get weapons on the ground.”
"We made the decision to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine a year ago," he said. "We still do not have the jets in Ukraine."
In other news:
• Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its troops had gained control of the village of Bohdanivka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian officials have not yet responded.
• One person died and four others were injured in Russian shelling in Ukrainsk on Sunday, according to the prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region. In the Odesa region, four people were injured in a missile attack, Gov. Oleh Kiper said.
• Two suspects were arrested on Sunday after two Ukrainian soldiers killed a police officer at a checkpoint in the Vinnytsia region. The soldiers shot Maksym Zaretskyi, 20, early Saturday after he stopped their car for a routine check. Zaretskyi’s partner was injured but survived. The head of Ukraine’s National Police, Ivan Vyhovsky, said the suspects, a 52-year-old father and his 26-year-old son, were arrested in Ukraine’s Odesa region.
