The US Congress has unblocked aid to Ukraine. What's next?

311 votes for the 218 required. "Against" – 112.

This was accompanied by applause, congressmen waved Ukrainian flags, which is why they received a reprimand, since it is prohibited in Congress to unfurl the flags of foreign countries, writes Ukrainian Truth.

The adoption of the law occurred after more than 6 mounts delay. The House of Representatives, in which the majority is represented by Republicans, has been blocking aid all this time under various pretexts. Now we need the approval of another chamber — Senate. However, the majority there is held by Democrats who have long advocated support for aid to Ukraine. This will be followed by the signature of President Joe Biden, who has also long called on Congressmen to vote for this package.

As BBS-Ukraine writes, if all procedures will take place without delay, then in May Ukraine will be able to receive the first shipments of weapons. As you know, the US aid package to Ukraine was blocked in October last year. For some time, the United States could provide Ukraine with small quantities of military support, but in the spring the shortage of weapons became catastrophic. The shortage of air defense systems, for example, became the reason why Russia inflicted serious attacks on energy system of Ukraine. Attacks in Kharkov have also become more frequent, and recently in the Odessa region, where they previously managed to establish the export of Ukrainian audio products.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the US House of Representatives for approving the bill. He expressed gratitude to the lower house of the US Congress, both parties and Speaker Mike Johnson personally for "a decision that preserves the correct course of history".

Democracy and freedom will always matter in the world and will never fail as long as America helps protect them. The vital U.S. aid bill passed by the House today will help prevent war from spreading, save thousands upon thousands of lives, and make both of our nations stronger," Zelensky said.

Congress also voted in favour of aid to Israel and Taiwan, banning the Chinese video platform TikTok, identifying Iran's assets, and confiscating Russian assets in favour of Ukraine. We are talking about $8bn. The speaker of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov has already stated that this decision "will damage the image of the United States and scare away investors in this country".

What the aid package for Ukraine envisages

The $60.8bn aid to Ukraine involves its support and that of regional partners to counter Russia.

Defence spending is $49.9bn:

• $23.2bn - replenishment of defence goods and services provided to Ukraine;
• $11.3bn - ongoing US operations in the region;
• $13.8bn - procurement of advanced defence systems, goods and services.

Another $9.5bn is envisaged for economic assistance to Ukraine, of which 7bn are allocated in the form of a loan, although the US authorities can write it off.

An important point is that the draft contains a requirement for Biden to provide long-range ATACMS missiles.

Congress mentions in the draft law that the purpose of the USA military support is to give Ukraine the opportunity to "defend itself and achieve victory over Russian Federation". To do this, among other things, Congress commits the president to transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine "as soon as possible". It should be noted that Biden retains the right to refuse to fulfil the requirement by providing Congress with a security justification, so it is impossible to foresee the developments so far. But this is a truly dizzying change," writes European Pravda.

As reported by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the US Senate is scheduled to consider bills on aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Tuesday, 23 April.