Ukraine’s $61bn aid package finally approved by US House | World | News by StuffsEarth

The US House of Representatives finally approved nearly £50billion ($60.8bn) worth of military aid for Ukraine, following months of stalling.

The House voted in favour of sending Ukraine the £49.16bn military aid package the war-torn country had been hoping to see coming its way since last autumn.

This vote cannot yet translate into aid being delivered to Kyiv, as the bill now needs to go through the US Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden. However, the package is widely expected to be easily approved by US senators.

Following the vote in the House, the final result of which was 311 in favour against 112 against it, supporters of the bill started waving Ukrainian flags to celebrate the much-anticipated result.

For months, the bill had been opposed by many Republican Party members against spending more on Ukraine’s defence, despite warnings this could lead to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country being successful.

Prior to the vote, former Democratic speaker and current representative of California’s 11th congressional district Nancy Pelosi warned further opposing the bill would leave some of her colleagues with “blood on your hands”.

She said: “I hope our colleagues will choose democracy and decency rather than autocracy and evil because I fear if you choose the Putin route, you will have blood on your hands, blood of the children, blood of their mothers raped in front of their parents, raped in front of their children.”

The vote could spell trouble for Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who allied with Democrats to push through the aid package.

More than £18.5bn ($23bn) of this aid package will be used by Ukraine to replenish weapons and stocks already provided by the US.

Another £11.16bn ($13.8bn) is to be used for advanced weapons systems, while £8bn ($10bn) has been allocated for repayable economic assistance – unlikely to be repaid by Ukraine.

Shortly after the vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the US House’s move in a statement he shared on X.

He wrote: “I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track. Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it.

“The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.

“Just peace and security can only be attained through strength. We hope that bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk. Thank you, America!”

In the run-up to the vote, Kyiv had rang alarm bells saying it was struggling to defend its cities and sensitive targets amid depleting air defence stocks, and Mr Zelensky warned his country would “lose the war” without US assistance.