US grants aid to Ukraine
The much-needed cash arrives after a long delay. Matthew Partridge reports
Following “a political logjam that had lasted for months”, the US Senate has finally approved a $95bn bill to deliver security aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, with “overwhelming bipartisan support”, says James Politi in the Financial Times. The approval, a result of the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson changing his mind and allowing it to come up for a vote, represents a “legislative victory” for Biden. Ukraine should start receiving aid “within days”.
A critical moment
The $61bn for Ukraine comes at a “critical moment” in the war, says Owen Matthews in The Spectator. The delaying tactics by Republicans in the House, which held up the aid for six months, has led to a “desperate shortage of artillery shells” – the Russians have been firing up to six shells for every one the Ukrainians shot back. A lack of missile defences has also seen Russian ballistic and cruise missiles “almost entirely destroy the electricity generation infrastructure of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, and severely damaged that of Kyiv”, leaving “hundreds of civilians dead”. More importantly, the delay has taught the Ukrainians that their security “is dependent on the political whims of their allies, and could once again evaporate”.
Thankfully, the benefits from the American aid should be felt nearly immediately – and the US is confident it can supply enough shells “to last for a year or so”, says The Economist. Larger weapons systems will take much longer to ship,
All is far from lost
but the immediate infusion of aid should be “enough to fend off a larger-scale Russian offensive that the head of Ukraine’s militaryintelligence service has said he expects in June”. Worries remain that a Trump victory in the US presidential elections later this year could force Ukraine “to accept either defeat or a huge territorial loss in 2025”; it’s clear this package has at least prevented this happening during Biden’s term of office.
It’s no coincidence that the Republican decision to back Ukraine came at a time when the attention of Donald Trump, who has opposed aid to Ukraine until now, was focused elsewhere, says The Guardian. Trump’s legal problems, including an ongoing trial, mean that the former president “won’t be able to bully Republican lawmakers or rally his followers so effectively”, as shown by his decision not to endorse calls for Mike Johnson’s removal. Trump’s “diminished status” will not have been lost on many Republicans, especially the 101 who showed by backing the bill that they “want America to be governed effectively”.
What the episode shows is that “all is far from lost” for Ukraine and its allies, says Max Boot in The Washington Post. Ukraine still controls roughly 80% of its territory and the Ukrainian people remain “united in resistance”. However, “more needs to be done”, including granting more US aid, to convince Vladimir Putin “that he cannot win his cruel war of conquest”. It is to be hoped that “next time Congress will move without first forcing Ukraine to the brink of disaster”.