“It’s an investment in our own security,” Joe Biden said 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 coming “hours”.
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The law, which provides $61 billion in military and economic aid for Kyiv, “will strengthen America’s security and the security of the world,” said the American president, acknowledging that the legislative process had been “difficult “.
“We don’t bow down to anyone. Person. And certainly not in front of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” said the 81-year-old democrat.
“We are not abandoning our allies, we are supporting them. We don’t let tyrants win, we oppose them. We do not witness developments in the world as spectators, we shape them,” he declared, welcoming the political consensus found between Democratic parliamentarians and a certain number of Republican elected officials, after months of negotiations, around the text.
The law received very broad support in the US Senate on Tuesday, after having been adopted a few days earlier in the House of Representatives, the other component of the US Congress.
“Whatever anyone says, we are getting the support we need. It is necessary for us to continue to protect lives from Russian attacks,” responded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Now, we are going to do everything to compensate for these six months of debate and doubt,” he added, referring to the time that Congress took to validate the aid plan requested by Joe Biden.
“Ammunition” rather than “our boys”
American military assistance, interrupted for several weeks, will resume “in the coming hours” according to the American president.
The American government then specified that the Ukrainians would receive missiles for its anti-aircraft defense, ammunition for the Himars multiple rocket launcher systems, shells, armored vehicles, and even anti-tank weapons, for a total value of a billion dollars.
Enough to relieve the Ukrainian army, faced with a shortage of new recruits and ammunition, in the face of constant pressure from Russian troops in the east.
The Americans last sent military equipment to Kyiv on March 12, exploiting accounting margins found by the Pentagon.
The United States is Kyiv’s main military supporter, but Congress had not passed a major package for its ally in nearly a year and a half — mainly due to partisan wrangling.
The conservative boss of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, blocked the text for a long time.
He ended up supporting the resumption of military and economic aid, with this justification: “I would rather send munitions 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 by also delivering military equipment, which remains to be seen.
The British and German heads of government promised “unwavering” military support to Ukraine on Wednesday, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to refuse the delivery of long-range missiles to Kyiv.
The President of the European Council Charles Michel thanked Joe Biden, via the social network and independent.
“Everyone wondered how this story would end, and it ended well,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, whose country is leading an international operation aimed at purchasing ammunition for the ‘Ukraine.
“We need American support, and it is very good that the president has signed this law… but now is not the time to relax, on the contrary we must mobilize and do everything we can” , warned his Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot, during a joint press conference.
