US aid helps Ukraine strengthen its defense lines - Kirby
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have strengthened their defensive lines on the front with the help of U.S. aid, but it is up to the Ukrainian side to decide how the new weapons will be used in the future.
This assessment of the situation was given on Thursday during a telephone briefing by White House counselor John Kirby, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
"They have strengthened their defense. This is a priority right now because, in particular, in Donbas, as you know, they lost some territory in the Avdiivka area because they didn't get support from the United States for six months, which is now starting to come in," Kirby said.
He added that the Ukrainian forces are now using this assistance "to bring the defense lines into better condition." How this support will be applied in the future and whether it will be used in counteroffensive operations is up to the Ukrainian side.
However, the most important thing is that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already begun to receive support from the United States, Kirby said.
US Congress approves aid for Ukraine
The US Congress has been considering a bill to help Ukraine since October 2023. At that time, the White House submitted a budget request to Congress that included funding for additional spending to help Ukraine in the amount of about $61.4 billion. However, the issue was not put to a vote due to the position of some Republican congressmen and personally House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In February 2024, the US Senate approved a joint bill to help Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to put it to a vote.
In April 2024, Mike Johnson proposed his own four separate bills to Congress - on assistance to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and on US national security issues.
On 20 April, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to fund assistance to Ukraine. The Congress also supported the confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the US for Ukraine and voted to extend anti-Russian sanctions.
On 23 April, the document was supported by the US Senate and sent to the President for signature.
Already on April 24, Joe Biden signed bills to help Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
