The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had a telephone conversation with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, who is delaying the vote on the draft law, which provides for the provision of $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.
The president told him about the situation on the battlefield, in particular, that the Russians have recently been increasing their aerial attacks — just last week, the Russian Federation hit Ukrainian cities and communities with 190 missiles, 140 Shahed drones, and 700 anti-aircraft missiles. The occupiers disabled the largest Ukrainian hydroelectric power station.
Zelensky explained to Johnson that in this situation it is critically important that Congress approve aid to Ukraine as soon as possible.
"We realize that in the House of Representatives there are different positions on how to do this, but the main thing is that the issue of aid to Ukraine remains a unifying factor," the president emphasized.
Zelenskyi and Johnson also discussed the need to close the sources from which Russia finances its war as soon as possible, as well as the use of frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
"In this, we also count on the leadership of the Congress," the president noted.
Aid from the USA
US military aid to Ukraine was exhausted at the end of 2023. Last year in October , Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for the allocation of $106 billion, of which more than $61 billion is intended for Ukraine, mostly for the purchase of weapons from the United States. The rest of the funds from the package were intended for Israel, aid to the Asia-Pacific region, humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip, etc.
However, the request was not approved due to political disputes. For several months, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating a compromise bipartisan bill. In particular, the former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, called on the Republicans to sabotage the agreement. He believes that the US needs a separate bill on borders and immigration and it should not be tied to foreign aid in any way. Biden criticized Trump, saying that he threatened Republicans and tried to intimidate them.
On March 22, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green from the Republican Party filed a motion to remove Mike Johnson from the position of speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Some House Democrats have said they are prepared to vote against the proposal if Johnson agrees to hold a vote on the Senate-passed supplemental security spending package, which includes funding for Ukraine and Israel.