Joe Biden
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden signed legislation authorizing urgently required military help to Ukraine, stating that Washington would begin sending new aid to Kyiv within hours.
The $95 billion package, which includes aid for Israel and Taiwan, as well as a move to potentially ban TikTok in the United States, was approved after months of delay, during which Ukrainian forces ran out of ammunition and suffered battlefield setbacks.
“I just signed into law the national security package that was passed by the House of Representatives this weekend, and by the Senate yesterday”, Biden said.
He went on to say, “Making sure the shipments start right away, in the next few hours”.
“It’s going to make America safer, it’s going to make the world safer and it continues American leadership in the world and everyone knows it”, Biden continued.
“It gives vital support to America’s partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and to the lives and freedoms of their citizens”, Biden added.
The aid legislation was only passed by the House of Representatives after months of bitter debate among lawmakers over how, if at all, to assist Ukraine in defending itself when Russia invaded in February 2022.
A similar aid measure passed the Senate in February but was stalled in the House as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson requested concessions from Biden on immigration policies, heeding calls from ex-president Donald Trump and his hardline allies, before a sudden reversal.
The United States has been a main military backer of Ukraine, but Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv in nearly a year and a half, and the financing of the war has become a source of contention ahead of the November presidential election.
Ukraine’s military is facing a critical scarcity of weaponry and recruits as Moscow applies relentless pressure from the east, with frontline conditions anticipated to worsen in the coming weeks.
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