The American Congress voted this Saturday in favor of a major aid plan for Ukraine supported by elected officials from both sides. This gigantic envelope of 95 billion dollars (89 billion euros) also concerns Israel and Taiwan.
The vote on aid of 61 billion dollars (57 billion euros) for Ukraine, which took place in the American House of Representatives, had been awaited for several months by kyiv. The objective of this aid is to allow the Ukrainian army to catch its breath, in this high-intensity conflict which has exhausted many of its fighters and reduced the morale of the troops.
A decision welcomed by Volodymyr Zelensky. “The life-saving law passed today by the House of Representatives will prevent the war from spreading, save thousands and thousands of lives and help our two nations become stronger,” the Ukrainian president wrote on saying he was “grateful” to American elected officials. American President Joe Biden also spoke of “crucial aid” to Israel and Ukraine, at the “meeting of history”.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the outcome of the vote. “Ukraine uses weapons supplied by NATO allies to destroy Russian combat capabilities. This makes us safe, in Europe and in North America,” he wrote on X.
The EU, for its part, judged that the release of American aid sent “a clear signal” to Moscow. The Kremlin, for its part, reacted by arguing that this envelope “will kill even more Ukrainians because of the Kiev regime”.
Unveiled on Wednesday, this text is the result of months of extremely acrimonious negotiations, the comings and goings of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, and pressure from allies around the world. The United States is kyiv’s main military backer, but Congress has not passed a major package for its ally in nearly a year and a half, mainly due to partisan squabbling.
Democratic President Joe Biden and his party in Congress are very supportive of new aid for Ukraine, at war with Russia. But the Republicans, led by Donald Trump, are increasingly reluctant to finance a conflict which is getting bogged down. In the middle of an election year, the issue has transformed into a remote duel between the two presidential candidates.
Difficulties of the Ukrainian army
kyiv is eagerly awaiting this crucial new aid, hoping to gain the upper hand over Russia. “We are getting closer to an important agreement with the United States,” Volodymyr Zelensky said confidently to journalists on Saturday. The day before, the Ukrainian president had sounded the alarm to NATO member countries during a videoconference speech. The Ukrainian army “can no longer wait” in the face of Russian pressure, he declared, demanding in particular at least seven additional Patriot anti-aircraft systems, as well as the acceleration of deliveries of military equipment of all kinds.
On the ground, Ukraine faces ammunition shortages and is unable to protect all of its cities and energy infrastructure, which are regularly targeted by the Russian army. kyiv has constantly requested munitions and anti-aircraft systems from its partners to counter these strikes, but political divisions in Washington have slowed deliveries.
On the European side, it is the limited production capacities which prevent at this stage from delivering in particular the shells promised to kyiv.
On Saturday, attacks continued on the ground, as they have for nearly 800 days. Ukraine said Russia struck residential buildings in the northeastern city of Vovchansk, a town about five kilometers from the Russian border, killing two people and injuring two. Russia fired at least seven missiles at Ukraine overnight, two of which were shot down by air defense, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
At the same time, a Ukrainian defense Source told AFP that kyiv had targeted eight Russian regions overnight in a “large-scale” drone attack targeting “the energy infrastructure that powers the Russian military-industrial complex.” “.
