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Long-Delayed Ukraine Aid Bill Passes Procedural Hurdle In Senate

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 23, 2024

The U.S. Senate on April 23 voted to advance a long-delayed military-aid package that includes more than $60 billion for Ukraine as early as April 23 after the House of Representatives passed the measure on April 20 following months of bickering.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of advancing a package of bills, which contains desperately needed aid for Ukraine's embattled military. The four bills under consideration received the more than the 60 needed to pave the way for a vote on final passage later on April 23 or on April 24.

One of the bills provides $61 billion for Ukraine, a second $26 billion for Israel, and a third $8.12 billion "to counter communist China" in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth bill includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, and new sanctions on Iran.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) earlier on April 23 asked fellow senators to pass the bill "as expeditiously as possible."

Schumer said the vote was "six months in the making" and urged his colleagues "not keep our friends around the world waiting for a moment longer," Schumer said in a speech as the Senate opened.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) said failing to support allies emboldened rivals like China and Russia, and denounced isolationism.

"Today, the Senate sits for a test on behalf of the entire nation. It's a test of American resolve, our readiness, and our willingness to lead," he said.

President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call on April 22 that the United States will "quickly provide significant new security assistance packages to meet Ukraine's urgent battlefield and air defense needs," the White House said in a statement.

The package includes air defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons. U.S. officials say some of the weapons will be delivered very quickly to the battlefront.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces would expand their aerial bombardment of Ukraine to include storage bases that house Western-supplied weapons.

"We will increase the intensity of strikes against logistics centers and warehouses for Western weapons," Shoigu told a meeting of high-ranking military officials in Moscow.

An intense campaign of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities has taken a large toll in human lives and has caused huge damage to the country's already battered energy infrastructure after more than two years of war.

Zelenskiy said on X, formerly Twitter, that Biden told him he will sign the bill "immediately as soon as it is approved by the Senate."

Zelenskiy also told Biden about a strike on the TV tower in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which had occurred just before their conversation.

Zelenskiy said later on April 22 that the Russian missile strike that smashed the prominent skyline tower was part of the Kremlin's effort to intimidate the city, which in recent weeks has come under increasingly frequent attack.

The strike sought to "make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv's connection and access to information," Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine's air defense shortages have made Kharkiv, a city with a population of more than 1 million located just 35 kilometers from the Russian border, more vulnerable to air and missile attacks. The power supply has already been disrupted and electricity is only available on an hourly basis.

"Russia clearly signals its intention to make the city uninhabitable," Zelenskiy said in his post on X about his call with Biden.

In the latest strikes, Russian drones targeted Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa early on April 23, wounding nine people, including four children, of whom two are less than a year old, regional administration chief Oleh Kiper said, adding that several buildings caught fire.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 out of 16 drones launched by Russia at the regions of Odesa, Kyiv, Mykolayiv, and Cherkasy, the air force said in a statement on Telegram.

All drones targeting Kyiv were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Ukrainian capital's military administration, said in a message on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties or damage in the city.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-senate-vote-military-aid- kharkiv-tower-zelenskiy-biden/32917071.html

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.