Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he sees "a chance for victory" for Ukraine over invading Russian forces after passage of a long-delayed aid bill critical to Ukraine's defense by the U.S. House of Representatives.
"I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine," Zelenskiy told U.S. broadcaster NBC on April 21. "And we will have a chance for victory if Ukraine really gets the weapons systems [that] we need so much."
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Ukraine will prioritize long-range weapons and air-defense systems, which Zelenskiy said would enable Ukraine to "break the plans of Russia" to mount an expected full-scale offensive.
"This is crucial. These are the priorities now," Zelenskiy said.
Elaborating on X, formerly Twitter, Zelenskiy said the democratic world has the strength to defeat Russia and shouldn't "be afraid of its own power," referring specifically to Ukraine's need for Patriot air-defense systems and modern fighter jets.
"’Patriots can only be called air-defense systems if they work and save lives rather than standing immobile somewhere in storage bases," he said. “Modern fighter jets are required where modernity is put to the test and it is determined whether children and grandchildren of today's generations will live in peace and security."
Later in his evening address, Zelenskiy encouraged quick delivery of the aid to the front line, where ammunition shortages have led Ukrainian military commanders to ration shells.
"The time between political decisions and actual damage to the enemy on the front lines, between the package's approval and our warriors' strengthening, must be as short as possible," he said.
Ukraine and its European allies earlier welcomed the U.S. House of Representatives's passage on April 20 of the bill, which includes $61 billion in Ukrainian aid as part of a $95 billion package that also includes aid to Israel and other U.S. allies.
SEE ALSO: Ground Drones: The Next Frontier Of Unmanned Combat In UkraineThe Senate's Democratic leadership has pledged to vote on the entire package in the next 72 hours to get it to President Joe Biden, who urged the Senate to quickly "send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) said overnight the Senate "is ready to take the next step on additional national security legislation." Debate is scheduled to begin on April 23.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
'There Is Hope': Ukrainians Welcome Passage Of U.S. Military Aid
Zelenskiy said he hoped the bill would quickly pass the Senate and be sent to Biden.
"We appreciate every sign of support for our country and its independence, people, and way of life, which Russia is attempting to bury under the rubble," Zelenskiy said on X. "America has demonstrated its leadership since the first days of this war. Exactly this type of leadership is required to maintain a rules-based international order and predictability for all nations."
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Freed From Prison In The Donbas, Journalist Joins Ukrainian Forces On Front Lines
In his evening address, Zelenskiy added that his office and Ukrainian diplomats "are actively working to ensure a positive political outcome of the swift approval" by the Senate, which originally passed the bill in February, but it must go back to the Senate for approval of changes in the legislation.
The Kremlin responded to the House vote by saying the U.S. move would cost further Ukrainian lives "because of the Kyiv regime." It suggested the U.S. support was intended to "enrich" the United States and "further ruin" Ukraine, which was already battling Russian-backed separatists after 2014 before the unprovoked full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said there is "nothing to celebrate here." He repeated the Kremlin arguments on social media and added in English, "But the inglorious end of the Kiev [sic] regime is inevitable regardless of this new package and all the futile efforts of its U.S. and NATO backers to keep it alive."