U.S. President Joe Biden said he will sign a long-delayed military aid package that passed the Senate late on April 23, clearing the way for U.S. military aid to begin flowing again to Ukraine.
"I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week," Biden said in a statement.
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The Senate voted 79-18 in favor of the package of bills that includes more than $60 billion of assistance for Ukraine after the House of Representatives passed the measure on April 20 following months of bickering.
“Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point,” Biden said in the statement.
One of the bills provided the aid for Ukraine, a second $26 billion for Israel, and a third $8.12 billion "to counter communist China" in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth bill includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, and new sanctions on Iran.
During debate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) had urged his Senate colleagues to pass the legislation as Kyiv struggles to hold its territory amid a shortage of weapons and ammunition caused in large part by the delay in U.S. aid.
"This is an is an inflection point in history. Western democracy perhaps faced its greatest threat since the end of the Cold War," Schumer said.
Schumer told a news conference after the aid to Ukraine passed that it was "one of the most important measures Congress has passed in a very long time to protect American security and the security of Western democracy."
Many of the no votes against the bill came from Republicans allied with former President Donald Trump. The Republicans said they oppose the bill in part because it doesn't include any U.S. security matters, particularly to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico border.
The package includes air-defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons. U.S. officials say some of the weapons will be delivered quickly to the battlefront.
Schumer said he left a message for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on April 23, telling him, "OK, we got it done. Now go win the fight."
Biden pledged during an April 22 phone call with Zelenskiy that Washington would "quickly provide significant new security assistance packages to meet Ukraine’s urgent battlefield and air defense needs."
"I am grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today," the Ukrainian leader said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"I equally appreciate President Biden's support and look forward to the bill being signed soon and the next military aid package matching the resoluteness that I always see in our negotiations. Ukraine's long-range capabilities, artillery, and air defense are critical tools for restoring just peace sooner," he added.
In the face of an expected wave of weaponry from U.S. and Ukraine's other allies, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces would expand their aerial bombardment of Ukraine to include storage bases that house Western-supplied weapons.
An intense Russian missile and drone strikes campaign on Ukrainian cities has taken a large toll in human lives and has caused huge damage to the country's already battered energy infrastructure after more than two years of war.