Ukraine thanks U.S. for military aid after suffering setbacks

By Stefan J. Bos

Yet it was the moment embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been waiting for. In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans in the U.S. House approved more massive military assistance to help Ukraine fight back against Russia's invading military. However, 112 Republicans, a majority of the GOP party legislators, voted against it, underscoring deep divisions among Republicans over that issue.    

The U.S. Senate is set to begin considering the bill on Tuesday, but observers expect enough support for the passage next week. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to sign the package into law immediately.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who had warned that his country would lose the war without U.S. funding, said that he was grateful for the decision of American lawmakers.

He said that Ukraine appreciates, in his words," every sign of support for our country and its independence, people, and way of life, which Russia is attempting to bury under the rubble.

Zelensky wrote on social media platform X, "America has demonstrated its leadership since the first days of this war." He added that this "type of leadership is required to maintain a rules-based international order and predictability for all nations."

Yet that view wasn't shared by Russia, with the Kremlin saying that the approval of the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine would lead "to more damage and deaths."

Critics countered that Russia is "the architect" of the damage and deaths, having "illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula" in 2014 and launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Seld-defense argument

Kyiv says Ukraine has acted in self-defense as an independent and sovereign country.

With the U.S. aid package expected to be signed into law soon, the Pentagon has already announced it can quickly move weapons to Ukraine.

Storage sites in Europe and the U.S. reportedly already hold some of the munitions and air defense components the Ukrainians desperately need.

The aid package also contains measures to confiscate seized Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine to fund reconstruction, prompting Moscow to threaten unspecified retaliation.

Yet, with the U.S. and allies increasingly involved in the war in Ukraine, some member states of the NATO military alliance, such as Hungary and Slovakia, fear the armed conflict could lead to a broader East-West confrontation impacting Europe and the world.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including many children, are believed to have been killed and injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.