“It’s an investment in our own security”, declared Joe Biden on Wednesday after promulgating a vast assistance plan for Ukraine, to which he promised a first massive shipment of weapons worth a billion dollars in the next “hours”, reports AFP, according to News.ro.
The law, which provides military and economic aid to Kiev in the amount of 61 billion dollars “will strengthen the security of America and the security of the world”, appreciated the American president, admitting that the legislative process was “difficult”.
“We don’t bow down to anyone, anyone. And certainly not in front of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin”, the 81-year-old democrat also declared.
“We do not abandon our allies, we support them. We don’t let tyrants win, we oppose them. We don’t watch the developments of the world as spectators, we shape them”, he declared, welcoming the political consensus between the democratic parliamentarians and a certain number of elected republicans, after months of negotiations of the text.
The law received very wide support in the US Senate on Tuesday, after it was adopted on Saturday in the House of Representatives, the other component of the US Congress.
“Whatever they say, we get the help we need. He is necessary for us to continue to protect lives from Russian attacks”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted.
“Currently, we will do everything to make up for these six months of debate and doubt,” he added, referring to the time Congress needed to validate the aid plan requested by Joe Biden.
RATHER “AMMUNITION” THAN “OUR BOYS
American military assistance – interrupted for several weeks – will resume “in the coming hours”, according to the American president.
The US government then specified that the Ukrainians were to receive air defense missiles, ammunition for the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, shells, armored vehicles or anti-tank weapons – worth a total of one billion dollars.
This aid is meant to relieve the Ukrainian army, which is facing a shortage of recruits and ammunition in the face of constant pressure from Russian troops in the east.
The Americans last sent military equipment to Kiev on March 12, exploiting accounting margins found by the Pentagon.
The United States is Kiev’s main military backer, but Congress has not passed much of the envelope intended for its ally in nearly a year — largely because of bipartisan bickering.
Conservative leader in the House of Representatives Mike Johnson blocked the text for a long time.
He ended by supporting the resumption of military and economic aid with the justification “I’d rather send ammunition to Ukraine than send our boys to fight.”
“NO TIME TO RELAX”
In Washington, it is hoped that this new influx of American aid will encourage Ukraine’s other allies to follow suit and deliver military material as well, something that remains to be seen.
British Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and German Olaf Scholz promised “unwavering” military support to Ukraine on Wednesday, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to refuse to deliver long-range missiles to Kiev.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, thanked Joe Biden, on the X social network, for his “tireless work on aid” and said that Europeans and Americans are “united in their support for a free and independent Ukraine”.
“Everyone was wondering how this story would end, and it ends well,” congratulated, for his part, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, whose country is coordinating an international operation aimed at buying ammunition for Ukraine.
“We need American support and it is good that the president promulgated this law, but this is not the time to relax. On the contrary, we must mobilize and do everything we can”, warned his Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot, in a joint press conference.
Tags: Ukrainians receive air defense missiles HIMARS ammunition shells armored vehicles antitank weapons coming hours
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