After several months of blockade the House of Representatives in the US Congress approved the new military aid for Ukraine. The package is worth 61 billion dollars (about 57 billion euros).
U.S. aid was approved by votes of both Republicans and Democrats. 311 lawmakers voted in favor of the package, 112 opposed. To organize a majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson split the original bill and asked that all parts - aid to Israel, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region - be voted on separately.
80% of the funds are for American weapons stocks
The vote was preceded by weeks of bitter controversy. As a concession to the Republicans, part of the aid to Ukraine - about 9 billion dollars - will be given in the form of a loan. According to Johnson, the 23 billion will be de facto support for the US's own military resources: "Remember, 80% of the funds for Ukraine will go to replenish America's weapons stockpile, our facilities and operations," Johnson said.
The aid package for Ukraine is about to be considered by the second chamber of the Congress - the Senate. That could happen as early as Tuesday. US President Joe Biden's Democrats have a fragile majority in the Senate, where approval is considered certain. Biden has already announced that he will sign the aid to Ukraine immediately after the relevant resolution of the Congress.
Thanks from Ukraine
Ukraine and NATO welcomed the vote in the House of Representatives. The approval of the "vital assistance" will prevent "expansion of the war", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the X social network. The new aid will "save thousands and thousands of lives and help our two peoples become stronger.