Washington, 20 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) — After months of deadlock, the US House of Representatives approved a $61-billion aid package for Ukraine on Saturday with overwhelming bipartisan support.

 

The necessary approval of the upper chamber, the Senate, is still pending but is considered certain.

 

The bill was passed in the House of Representatives, in which the Republicans have a wafer-thin majority, by a vote of 311 to 112.

 

There was applause in the chamber after the vote. A number of lawmakers waved Ukrainian flags and shouted "Ukraine, Ukraine." They were called to order.

 

Numerous Republicans voted against the aid package but were unable to prevent its approval with the help of US President Joe Biden's Democrats.

 

The vote could cost the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, his job. Several radical lawmakers who are loyal to former president Donald Trump opposed the Ukraine aid package.

 

Biden immediately welcomed the move: "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.

 

"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," Biden said.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately thanked the House and Johnson.

 

"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," Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday shortly after the historic vote.

 

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

 

"Thank you, America!" Zelensky said.

 

"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 achieved through strength."

 

Ukraine has been resisting the Russian invasion for more than two years. Zelensky has been pleading for more air-defence support and ammunition from Western partners as the Russians have been pushing hard at the front lines and hitting more infrastructure, including power plants.

 

At a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council that took place on Friday at the request of Kiev, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced more support would be forthcoming.

 

"A major hurdle for US aid to Ukraine has been overcome," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on the platform X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening. "The hearts of the most important Ukraine supporters are beating as one."

 

The United States and Europe are standing together on the side of freedom and against Russian President Vladimir Putin's "war of terror," she wrote.

 

The US aid package provides for around $23 billion to increase the US military stockpile. The money will therefore go indirectly to Ukraine, as the US usually provides the country with equipment from its stocks. The remainder is earmarked for further military support and financial aid, which is designed as a loan.

 

The text also states that US President Joe Biden should provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missile systems as soon as is practicable.

 

Kiev has long hoped for the weapon system, whose missiles are fired from the ground at targets on the ground.

 

The House of Representatives also voted for $26 billion for Israel in the same package. On the one hand, this is intended to finance Israel's missile defence and Washington's ongoing military operations in the region. On the other hand, around $9 billion is earmarked for humanitarian aid, including for the people in the Gaza Strip.

 

Around $8 billion in support for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, a text that provides for the sale of the Chinese short video app TikTok, as well as sanctions on Iran and the confiscation of Russian assets were also approved.

 

The Senate had in fact already voted in favour of the multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan requested by Biden in February, but there was never a vote in the House of Representatives because of an internal power struggle in the Republican Party.

 

The US is considered Ukraine's most important ally in its defence against the Russian invasion. Since the start of the war in February 2022, President Biden's administration has provided more than $44 billion in military aid to Kiev. This is in addition to billions more in non-military financial aid.

 

According to the US government, the funds authorized by Congress have been used up, which is why the vote on new aid is of great importance.