Following the House’s approval of a bill providing his country with additional military aid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his thanks to congressional lawmakers, saying the $60.8 billion in aid would give Ukraine a chance for victory.
While appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” the day after the House vote, Zelenskyy said the additional funding would strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces and give them “a chance at victory,” especially if Ukraine obtained the weapons systems it needed.
The Republican-controlled House approved four separate bills on Saturday, April 20. In addition to the $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, the House also approved a $26.4 billion aid package to Israel and an $8.1 billion aid package to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth bill requires the Chinese-based company ByteDance to divest from TikTok within a year to prevent the US from banning the platform.
Last week, the US Senate combined all four bills into one package, which was overwhelmingly approved last Tuesday in a 79-19 vote.
President Biden signed the package into law last Wednesday, describing it as “a good day” for America, Europe, and “world peace.”
In his remarks, Biden said the $95 billion package would make the country and the world safer and reaffirmed “America’s leadership in the world.”
Shortly after the package was signed, the Pentagon announced another $1 billion in military aid for Ukraine, the Defense Department’s largest weapons drawdown for Ukraine since January 2023.
President Biden said the US would immediately begin to send Ukraine weapons and equipment “in the next few hours,” including munitions for air defense and artillery for rocket systems, as well as armored vehicles.
President Zelenskyy thanked the US for the additional funding in his nightly video address Wednesday evening and vowed that Ukraine would now do everything it could to “compensate for the six months that have passed in debate and doubt.”