Vote to Resume U.S. Military Aid Is Met With Relief in Ukraine
The Ukrainian lieutenant was at a firing position on the eastern front, commanding an artillery unit relying on American-provided M777 howitzers and other big guns, as U.S. lawmakers gathered in Washington to decide if his cannons would be forced to go silent for lack of ammunition.
But when the lieutenant returned to his base on Saturday night, he got the news that he and millions of Ukrainians had been praying to hear.
“I had just entered the building after a shift change when the guys informed me that the aid package for Ukraine had finally been approved by Congress,” said the lieutenant, who is identified only by his first name, Oleksandar, in line with military protocol. “We hope this aid package will reach us as soon as possible.”
The decision by American lawmakers to resume military assistance after months of costly delay was greeted with a collective sigh of relief and an outpouring of gratitude across a battered and bloodied Ukraine. It may have been late in coming, soldiers and civilians said, but American support meant more than bullets and bombs.
It offered something equally important: hope.
The $60 billion military assistance package approved by the House is expected to be voted on by the Senate and signed by President Biden as early as Tuesday. The Pentagon has said it could resume sending weapons to Ukraine within days through a well-established logistics network.
Some items, like artillery shells, could start arriving relatively quickly, but both Ukrainian commanders and military analysts cautioned that it would take weeks before the U.S. assistance started to have a direct impact on the fight.