The United States will begin shipping military equipment to Ukraine within “a few hours” after passing a long-stalled foreign aid bill, President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday.
In remarks from the White House, Biden stated that he had just signed the $95 billion agreement. He claimed that it would make both America and the world “safer.”
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Biden said of the legislation, which the administration first requested last fall and seemed doomed due to GOP-led opposition in the House before Speaker Mike Johnson’s unexpected reversal, “It was a difficult path [to my desk], and it should have been easier, and it should have gotten there sooner.”
“But in the end, we did what America always does: we rose to the moment, came together, and we got it done,” he said. “Now we need to move fast, and we are.”
The agreement includes over $61 billion for Ukraine’s struggle against Russian invaders, marking the first time in almost a year that Congress has approved new help for the war-torn ally. The fight has escalated in recent weeks, with more Russian strikes breaking through and Ukraine’s air defenses running low.
In anticipation of the legislation’s passage, the Biden administration prepared an approximately $1 billion military assistance package for Ukraine, a US official told ABC News on Tuesday.
President Biden stated that Ukraine is receiving much-needed air defense bombs, rocket system artillery, and armored vehicles promptly. He announced that U.S. stocks will supply the supplies, with American enterprises supplementing them.
A senior administration official confirmed to ABC News that the United States delivered Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles last month at Biden’s request. ABC News received confirmation from a US official that they first deployed the missiles in an attack on Crimea last week, and then again on Tuesday near Berdyansk.
ATACM missiles can often reach distances of 70 to 300 kilometers.
“America stands with our friends,” Biden stated. “We stand up to dictators. We bow to no one, especially not Vladimir Putin.”
Nonetheless, he criticized “MAGA Republicans” for delaying aid for months while Ukrainian supplies ran low and Russia obtained assistance from Iran, North Korea, and China.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Congress for its ratification of “vital aid,” emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
“The key now is speed,” he wrote in a statement published on X. “The rapid implementation of agreements with partners on the supply of weaponry for our fighters.”We are swiftly eliminating all Russian plans to evade sanctions. The speed at which we develop political solutions to protect lives from Russian terror is remarkable. “Every leader who does not waste time saves lives.”
The foreign aid package includes $26 billion for Israel, which is currently in conflict with Hamas in Gaza, and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies. Furthermore, it includes penalties against Russia, China, and Iran, as well as a mechanism to take Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild after the war.
If TikTok’s Chinese parent firm does not divest from the app within a year, the package also includes a provision that would ban the app in the US, though the company is likely to sue to overturn the rule.
Speaking about Israel aid, Biden stated that his commitment to defending the Jewish state was “ironclad,” while simultaneously highlighting that the law provides $1 billion in humanitarian help for Gaza. He said Israel must ensure that relief, including food, water, and medicine, reaches Palestinian residents “without delay.”
However, Biden expressed disappointment that the law did not include border security.
First, Johnson and Republican hardliners urged linking foreign aid to border policy changes, arguing that addressing domestic issues like immigration was necessary before transferring more resources overseas. Johnson then rejected a bipartisan agreement to modify asylum laws, hire more immigration judges, and take other measures. After the deal failed, the Senate enacted its own foreign aid package, which stalled in the House until Johnson, with the help of Democrats, went ahead with individual foreign aid votes last week.
“This package should have included the immigration policy, and I’m determined to get it passed for the American people,” Biden stated on Wednesday.
Biden concluded his remarks by thanking the top legislative leaders—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries—for eventually coming together on this subject.
“History will remember this moment for all the talk about how dysfunctional things are in Washington; when you look over the past three years, we see that time and again on the critical issues we’ve actually come together,” he went on to say.
