Ukraine has sought financial, as well as military, aid from foreign powers throughout its war against Russia (since February 24, 2022). The US and its Western allies have helped Kiev to counter the Russian aggression by providing aid. However, Washington DC reduced the volume of aid in recent times as the US Congress was divided over spending on war. The Congress has also blocked a Bill related to providing foreign countries with defence aid. A voting was scheduled to be held in the Congress on this Bill on April 20, 2024. Ahead of the voting, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Anatoliiovych Shmyhal blasted the US Congress.
Although Shmyhal is optimistic that Ukraine would ultimately win the Congressional vote and receive a financial aid package of USD 60 billion, he has expressed doubt that the House of Representatives might not clear the Bill. It may be noted that the US is not only sending aid to Ukraine, but also to Israel and to the Indo-Pacific Region.
Russia, too, is not sitting tight. The Kremlin recently claimed that the renewed US aid would do no good because the situation on the battlefield was no longer favourable for Ukraine. However, Ukraine is desperate! Addressing the issue of US security assistance, the Ukrainian PM recently stressed that there would be a Third World War, if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia. He also urged the US Congress to pass the long-stalled Foreign Aid Bill, stating: "We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today… If we will not protect… Ukraine will fall. So, the global system of security will be destroyed… and all the world will need to find… a new system of security."
Talking to NPR's Andrew Limbong on 'All Things Considered' in the third week of April (2024), Shmyhal said: "All that the US supplied to Ukraine is absolutely clearly accounted (for) and we cooperate with inspectors general from Defence (Department), from Department of State, from USAID." He added: "Because the US is the biggest partner, the biggest supplier of military support, we pay special attention to questions of accountability."
Shmyhal told NPR: "We should not forget that we are that; we all are on the influence of Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation, Russian cyberattacks. They play a role in the sense of disinformation (in) all of our societies, Ukrainian and Western societies and US society. And especially, (they) implement these messages that 'Ukrainians are using weaponry not in proper ways', 'they are selling this weaponry' and so on. So because of this, we cooperate with our partners very closely and we are very accountable for this, to destroy this propaganda and this lie from the Russian side."
It may be noted that Ukraine warned of Third World War (if it loses against Russia) in the past. Earlier in 2023, President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy reportedly said that if the Russians won the war against Ukraine, then their next target would be Poland. In that case, the Third World War would be inevitable, added the President. The Kremlin, however, has always dismissed Kiev's claims as ridiculous.
US House Passes Ukraine & Israel Aid Bill
Finally, the US House of Representatives passed a Bill on April 21, 2024 to provide a sizeable financial aid to war-torn Ukraine. As per the Bill, the US shall also give financial aid to Israel and Taiwan. Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, confirmed that the Lower House passed a USD 95 billion legislative package, providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. He said that the long-awaited Bill could be signed into law in the last week of April after passing through the Senate and landing on President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.
According to Johnson, the House of Representative sanctioned USD 60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, specifically USD 23 billion to replenish US weapons, stocks and facilities; USD 14 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, more than USD 11 billion to fund current US military operations in the region, and USD 8 billion in non-military assistance, including helping the Ukrainian Government pay salaries.
Similarly, the Bill allocated around USD 26.38 billion for Israel, including USD 9.1 billion for humanitarian needs. Specifically, the allocation will see: USD 5.2 billion shall be spent on replenishing and expanding Israel's missile and rocket defence system; USD 3.5 billion for purchasing advanced weapons systems, USD 1 billion for enhancing weapons production; USD 4.4 billion for other supplies and services to Israel; and USD 9.2 billion for humanitarian purposes, including in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
Johnson informed the press that a member of his Republican Party strongly opposed the Bill backed by the Democrats. The majority of the Republicans who opposed the Bill are followers of former President Donald Trump. A total of 112 members of the House did not want the US to provide Ukraine with financial aid. However, the Bill was passed with the support of 311 members. Similarly, the Bill related to Israel was passed by 366-58 votes.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin strongly criticised the House of Representatives' move. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov, the Press Secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressed: "The decision to provide assistance to Ukraine was expected and was predictable. This will further enrich the United States of America and further ruin Ukraine, making more Ukrainians killed." As the Bill included measures for confiscating frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, Peskov said: "If we are really talking about confiscating our assets, this will cause irreparable damage to the image of the US. This will force many investors in this country to protect their funds because the inviolability of private property will be violated, especially state property."
For her part, Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova reportedly said: "The US ruling elites are willing to flood the Kiev regime with weapons for it to continue to fight to the last Ukrainian and to continue, among other things, to carry out terrorist attacks targeting civilian sites in Russia, to perpetrate acts of sabotage, and to kill journalists. For this purpose, Washington is resorting to the trivial theft of frozen Russian assets, for which Congress has given the green light to the Biden Administration."
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