Ukrainian And Western Leaders Laud US Aid Package While The Kremlin Warns Of ‘Further Ruin’

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian and Western officials praised a badly needed aid package voted by the US House of Representatives, while the Kremlin warned that the bill would “further ruin” Ukraine and result in more deaths.

In a rare Saturday session, the House quickly passed $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other US allies, as Democrats and Republicans came together after months of hard-right opposition to increased American help for opposing Russia’s incursion.

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Ukrainian And Western Leaders Laud US Aid Package While The Kremlin Warns Of ‘Further Ruin’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had warned that his country would lose the conflict without US funding, expressed gratitude for the decision of US senators.

“We appreciate every sign of support for our country and its independence, people and way of life, which Russia is attempting to bury under the rubble,” he wrote on X.com, a social media site.

“America has proved its leadership since the beginning of this war. This type of leadership is necessary to keep a rules-based international order and predictability for all states,” he stated.

The Ukrainian president stated that his country’s “warriors on the front lines” will profit from the aid package.

One such “warrior” is infantry soldier Oleksandr, who is battling around Avdiivka, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region that Russia seized in February after months of fierce battle.

“For us, it’s critical to have this support from the US and our partners,” Oleksandr told The Associated Press. He did not provide his complete name for security reasons.

“With this, we can stop them and cut our losses. It is the first step toward the possibility of liberating our territory.

Ammunition shortages caused by the assistance holdup over the last six months have forced Ukrainian military commanders to ration shells, a disadvantage that Russia exploited this year, capturing the city of Avdiivka and now advancing on the village of Chasiv Yar, also in the Donetsk region.

“The Russians attack us in waves, leaving us weary and forced to leave our positions. “This has happened several times,” Oleksandr stated. “Not having enough ammunition means we can’t cover the area that is our responsibility to hold when they are assaulting us.”

In Kyiv, residents expressed their opinions on the US aid plan.

“I heard our president openly state that we will lose the battle without this assistance. “Thank you very much, and yesterday was a fantastic event,” said Kateryna Ruda, 43.

Tatyana Ryavchenuk, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier, expressed the need for more weapons, stressing that soldiers “have nothing to protect us.”

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Ukrainian And Western Leaders Laud US Aid Package While The Kremlin Warns Of ‘Further Ruin’

“They require guns, equipment, and other necessities. We always need assistance. Because without assistance, our enemies can move further and reach the middle of our city,” the 26-year-old stated.

Other Western officials applauded the aid deal.

“Ukraine is destroying Russian combat capabilities with weapons provided by NATO Allies.” “This makes us all safer, in Europe and North America,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on X.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that “Ukraine deserves all the support it can get against Russia.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed her statement, describing it as “a strong signal in these times.”

“We stand with the Ukrainians fighting for their free, democratic and independent country,” Scholz said in a post on X.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk congratulated House Speaker Mike Johnson for his efforts but also acknowledged the congressional gridlock. “It’s better to be late than too late. And I hope it is not too late for Ukraine,” he posted on X.

In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the acceptance of aid to Ukraine as “expected and predictable.”

The decision “will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine, and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also resorted to social media to criticize the aid package.

“The allocation of military assistance by the United States to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan will aggravate the global crisis: military assistance to the Kyiv regime is direct sponsorship of terrorist activities,” she stated in an email.

“The new aid package will not save, but, on the contrary, will kill thousands and thousands more people, prolong the conflict, and bring even more grief and devastation,” Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, wrote on Telegram.

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Ukrainian And Western Leaders Laud US Aid Package While The Kremlin Warns Of ‘Further Ruin’

The entire aid plan will be sent to the United States Senate, which might pass it as early as Tuesday. President Joe Biden has pledged to sign it immediately.

In its most recent assessment, a Washington-based research tank stated that the complexities of bringing US support to the front lines would most likely mean that its impact would be delayed for several weeks.

“Ukrainian forces may suffer additional setbacks in the coming weeks while waiting for U.S. security assistance that will allow Ukraine to stabilize the front,” the Institute for the Study of War stated.

“But they will likely be able to blunt the current Russian offensive assuming the resumed U.S. assistance arrives promptly.”

On the ground, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Sunday that its troops had seized control of the settlement of Bohdanivka in the Donetsk area. Ukrainian officials have yet to react to the claim.

According to the prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s partially seized Donetsk area, Russian shelling killed one person and injured four others.

SOURCE – (AP)