US House approves critical $61bn Ukraine aid package

EPACopyright: EPA

Stroll around the Capitol on a Saturday, and you’ll find it relatively subdued - lawmakers usually head home to tend to their districts. Not today. The hill was a hive of activity.

As lawmakers cast their votes in the chamber, outside supporters of Ukraine aid waved blue and yellow flags.

On the other side of the street stood protesters against unfettered military aid to Israel. Among them, Marion Ingram, who told us “I’m a German holocaust survivor and I’ve experienced every single thing the Gazans are experiencing.”

Nevertheless, all bills passed today, and cheers rung out in the chamber.

“That was from the Democrats,” California's congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, told us.

“Republicans were more sombre,” she added.

Indeed, a majority of the Republican House representatives voted against sending more aid to Ukraine. But - with Democratic support, the nays were outnumbered.

Cai PigliucciCopyright: Cai Pigliucci

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the vote represents a "bad day for Putin" and a "bad day for anyone who dared to believe that America could waver when it comes to defending what and who it stands for".

He praised both Republican and Democrat politicians who "made the right choice".

Kuleba said he hopes the bill will be passed fully into law soon so its impact can be "felt by our warriors on the front lines".

House of RepresentativesCopyright: House of Representatives

If you're just joining us, there has been a major development in Washington DC which could have huge ramifications for Ukraine's war effort.

• After months of delays, the House has voted to pass a $61bn (£49bn) funding package for Ukraine, the bulk of which will be used to arm its military
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for "vital" support; the chief of Nato has also welcomed the move
• US President Joe Biden has called on the Senate to approve the package as soon as possible so he can sign it into law and transfer the aid
• The Kremlin responded by saying the development would "further Ruin" Ukraine
• The House also voted to approve tens of billions of dollars in aid for Israel, which includes military and humanitarian support, and countries in the Indo-Pacific region in a bid to deter Chinese aggression
• A measure which will block TikTok in the US unless its Chinese parent company relinquishes control has also gained support, as well as new sanctions for China, Russia and Iran

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Republican hard-liner Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a last minute attempt to try and kill the Ukraine funding bill with an amendment which would have reduced the amount of money sent to Kyiv to $0.

It was comfortably voted down.

In the minutes since the funding was approved, she has raged against Republican Speaker Mike Johnson for backing the measures in a series of post on social media.

She described the vote as "despicable" and called Johnson - the leader of her party in the House - a "traitor to our country".

"We need a new Speaker of the House," she wrote - and we'll find out in the coming days if Greene and others have any chance of removing him from his job.

EPACopyright: EPA

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson defied critics within his party, worked with Democrats and won a hard-fought victory when the strategy he devised to get this contentious foreign aid package through was comfortably approved a short time ago.

Speaking to reporters after the votes, he said the legislation was not perfect but that he did what he believed to be right.

Republicans who opposed new Ukraine aid have threatened to trigger a vote to oust Johnson from the speakership.

Such a move did not come on Saturday, however. Instead, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene – one of the leaders of the effort – said she would let congressional Republicans hear from their constituents as they head home during the coming week-long House recess.

It was a hint that while Johnson may be able to savour this victory for now, his actions over the past week will lead to more intense challenges to his leadership in the coming days.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The Kremlin's official spokesperson has reacted to today's vote in comments published by Russian news agency Tass.

Dmitry Peskov says military aid will "further ruin Ukraine, causing more Ukrainians to die due to the fault of the Kyiv regime".

As well as funding for Ukraine, the House also passed provisions to repurpose frozen Russian assets held in the US and divert the money to Kyiv.

He said the US "will have to answer" for the move, saying Russia will do so in a way that "best suits our interests".

Peskov said the move will cause "irreparable damage" to America's image.

Supporters in the House cheered and waved Ukrainian flags as it was announced that the critical aid package had enough votes to be approved.

But House chair Marc Molinaro called for order and said that wasn't appropriate.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The bill’s passing marks a significant changing of the political tide for Ukraine, but battlefield dynamics are unlikely to change straight away.

Nevertheless, the return of America’s support is a rare boost for Kyiv, and it’s a big one. It also extends its window to fight and keep the negotiating table at bay.

Now the focus will shift from whether this aid will arrive, to when.

Reports suggest some of this ammunition and equipment could be on the front line within days. While aspirations of liberation have been shelved, they could help stem the tide of Russian occupation.

Timely, with some generals predicting Moscow to launch a major offensive with the arrival of summer.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the vote “a bad day for Vladimir Putin”. Perhaps, but there are many more to come in his invasion.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed the new military aid for Ukraine, which he says demonstrates "continued bipartisan support" for its war effort.

"This significant boost in aid will supplement the tens of billions of aid being provided to Ukraine by European Allies," he said in a statement.

"At the NATO-Ukraine Council on Friday, Allied Defence Ministers agreed to provide further military support to Ukraine, including for air defence.

"I encourage the Senate to act quickly to send this bill to President Biden.”

EPACopyright: EPA

The White House has just released a statement from President Joe Biden urging the Senate to pass the aid bills as soon as possible.

He says: "Today, members of both parties in the House voted to advance our national security interests and send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage.

"At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer history’s call, passing urgently-needed national security legislation that I have fought for months to secure."

Biden says the vote comes at a moment of "grave urgency" for Israel and Ukraine, and he thanks Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and his Democrat counterpart for cutting a deal to get the vote passed.

Biden continues: "I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

It’s six months to the day since President Biden first sought congressional approval for a new aid package for Ukraine.

Since then, very little American assistance has been reaching the frontlines. That’s been a helpful boost to President Putin’s forces, who are now on the offensive in Ukraine.

The reluctance to swiftly approve assistance to Kyiv reflects a wider trend of “Ukraine fatigue.”

Surveys show that in America as well as in Europe, public support for continuing to assist the Ukrainians with money and weapons has dropped, although remains above 50% in most countries.

Dwindling western support is exactly what Vladimir Putin is hedging his bets on.

The Kremlin leader has made a calculation: that, over time, Russia can outlast the resources and morale that both Ukraine and its partners have at their disposal.

Ukraine’s backers in Washington are hoping that today’s congressional vote will remind people of the critical need to maintain support for Kyiv.

After months of delay, Ukraine aid passed the House of Representatives by a comfortable margin, 311 to 112. But those numbers obscure the increasingly sharp partisan divides on the issue.

While all 210 Democrats voted in favour of the $61bn aid package, more Republicans were against the legislation than in favour of it, 112 to 101.

That could spell trouble for Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who allied with Democrats to overcome procedural obstacles and bring the aid package to a vote in this rare Saturday session.

It also is a sign that Republican legislators in the House are increasingly sensitive to the shifting attitude from voters in their party toward Ukraine during this election year.

While the billions of dollars in new aid is expected to sustain the Ukrainian war effort in the months ahead, if Republicans gain more power in Congress – or take back the White House – further US support seems increasingly unlikely.

EPACopyright: EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just posted a statement on X, welcoming the result. He writes:

"I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track.

"Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it.

"The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.

"Just peace and security can only be attained through strength. We hope that bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk. Thank you, America!"

House of RepresentativesCopyright: House of Representatives

Supporters began waving Ukraine flags, cheering and clapping even before the result was formally announced, when it became clear that the Ukraine aid package had finally been approved.

This is a key moment for Kyiv, and its supporters in the US have been pushing for this vote to happen for months.

It's not common to see such jubilant scenes in the House but this vote has been a long time coming.

In the last few minutes the House has been voting on a series of amendments designed to water down or kill the Ukraine funding bill.

All have failed - and now we're minutes away from the result on the main vote.

The vote we have all been waiting for - and one that will be watched very carefully from Kyiv.

The $60.8bn (£49bn) military aid package will provide Ukraine with weapons and other “lethal assistance” to help it fight against Russia.

The result is expected any moment.