‘Now we can win’: Zelensky hails US’s £50bn military aid

UKRAINIAN president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces can now ‘bring a just end to this war’ after the US House of Representatives approved a £50billion military aid package.

The legislation had stalled in Congress for months, leaving Ukrainian troops stretched throughout the winter in their ongoing fight against the invading Russian army.

But on Saturday night a bipartisan effort in the Republican- controlled House agreed within minutes the financial package sought by Democrat president Joe Biden.

It is now a formality to pass in the Senate before being signed into law by Mr Biden so that its effect can be felt on the ground as soon as possible. Mr Zelensky was quick to thank his American allies for the ‘vital’ support as Democrats were still cheering and waving Ukrainian flags on the House floor. Around a third of the funding will be dedicated to replenishing weapons and ammunition, but it will also include air defence systems, long- range missiles and artillery shells.

It will allow Ukraine to switch from desperately holding ground to trying to reclaim the territory. Ammunition shortages over the past six months have led Ukrainian military commanders to ration shells, a disadvantage that Russia seized on this year. Its forces took the city of Avdiivka and are currently inching towards the town of Chasiv Yar.

Ukraine will now look to take the front foot with a spring counteroffensive. Mr Zelensky said: ‘We will use American support to bring a just end to this war – a war that Putin must lose.’

Russia denounced the aid as the ‘direct sponsorship of terrorist activities’. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: ‘ Washington’s deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for the United States.’

As well as the Ukraine funding, the House of Representatives also approved a further £26 billion of military aid to Israel and other allies under threat, including Taiwan.