Two days after the U.S. House of Representatives voted 311-112 to pass $61 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “maximum damage must be inflicted” on Russia. The deal passed by the House includes sending ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles to Ukraine, which Zelensky said would be used to attack Russia:
Maximum damage must be inflicted on everything that Russia relies on for terror and timely military logistics. I am grateful to everyone around the world who is willing to help us with this, and we are working with our American partners to expand our capabilities. Four key priorities are sky protection, modern artillery, long-range capabilities, and the possibility of receiving American assistance packages as soon as possible. And today we have a result: everything has been decided in the ATACMS negotiations for Ukraine. I am grateful to President Biden, Congress, and the entire United States.
President Joe Biden urged the Senate to pass the foreign aid bill quickly in order to provide the weapon systems to Ukraine, stating on X:
Today, I shared with President Zelenskyy that my Administration is ready to quickly provide new security assistance to meet Ukraine’s needs on the battlefield. I urge the Senate to send the national security package to my desk so I can immediately sign it into law.
Biden said he would sign the bill once passed by the Senate, providing Ukraine with the air defense, long-range, and artillery capabilities to attack Russia. In his announcement, Zelensky noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) both supported the aid deal, posting on X:
Following the vote in the US House of Representatives, I spoke with @POTUS Joe Biden, who assured me that he will sign the bill immediately as soon as it is approved by the Senate. I appreciate President Biden’s unwavering support for Ukraine and true global leadership. I also noted the bill’s bipartisan support and the personal contributions of Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to its passage. The House’s other decision to allow the confiscation of frozen Russian assets also sends a strong signal to all of our partners. I also informed President Biden about Russia’s air terror using thousands of missiles, drones, and bombs, including the recent strike on the Kharkiv TV tower just minutes before we spoke. Russia clearly signals its intention to make the city uninhabitable. We discussed the contents of the next U.S. military aid package. The President has assured me that the package will be approved quickly and that it will be powerful, strengthening our air defense as well as long-range and artillery capabilities. We also discussed our work on a bilateral security agreement and the preparations for the upcoming Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
