#aidforukraine

“Nearly $6 billion in aid [from Japan] for the coming year will strengthen Ukraine’s defense amid Russia’s continuous aggression.” ~ @mfa_ukraine 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇯🇵

#Repost @mfa_ukraine with @use.repost_ . . . 🇺🇦🇯🇵 We are grateful to Japan for securing additional support for Ukraine. Nearly $6 billion in aid for the coming year will strengthen Ukraine’s defense amid Russia’s continuous aggression.

💬 “We greatly appreciate that Japan takes such a leadership position, not only in the Indo-Pacific region but globally. This is a significant contribution to our resilience, and through it, to the international rules-based order,” stated President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

ありがとう ございます!

In support of the defense of Ukraine, Norway’s role is growing. 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇳🇴

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost_ . . .

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“I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track.” ~ Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇺🇸

#Repost @weareukraine.info with @use.repost . . . With 311 votes in favor, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill encompassing nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine on April 20, 2024, after months of political infighting.

All 210 Democrats voted in favor of the package, while the Republicans exhibited a nearly even split with 112 votes against and 101 in favor. Now, the bill will be sent onwards to the U.S. Senate where it’s expected to be subject to a vote on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Subject to its passage there, the bill will be passed on to U.S. President Joe Biden for final approval.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. House of Representatives in a statement on X. “I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track,” Zelenskyy wrote. “The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger. Just peace and security can only be attained through strength. We hope that bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk. Thank you, America!”

#WeAreUkraine #StandWithUkraine

Hopefully this week, approval will be granted for Ukraine to receive additional military aid from the U.S. 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇸

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that U.S. President Joe Biden and congressional leaders during an April 14 call reached a “consensus” that Congress should act quickly to provide aid to both Israel and Ukraine.

Schumer hopes that “something will be done” this week to help the two nations, he said at a press conference in New York, as cited by ABC News.

In February, a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan passed in the Senate with bipartisan support, with $60 billion going toward supporting Kyiv. House Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to put the bill to a vote in his chamber.

Delays in U.S. assistance to Ukraine have already had a direct impact on the battlefield, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka. Amid the escalating situation on the eastern front and intensified Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "Ukraine will lose the war" if the U.S. Congress fails to approve military aid.

Johnson told in an interview with Fox News aired on April 14 that he was planning to move forward with voting for military aid to Israel after a weekend Iranian attack, without specifying whether the package would include funding for Ukraine.

"The House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the need to stand with Israel. We're going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together right now," Johnson said, adding that "all options" are being considered.

Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) said on April 14 that Iran launched 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at the country, most of which were downed outside Israel. A few ballistic missiles entered Israeli territory, causing minor damage to the Nevatim Air Force Base, according to IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

The attack was reportedly in response to Israel’s strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 as part of the broader Israel-Hamas war. Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in response to attacks by Iran's proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, on its territory.

Photo: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

“We can’t let Ukraine go through this, if it comes through the spring and we haven’t helped Ukraine, God help us.” ~ U.S. Democratic Senator for West Virginia, Joe Manchin 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇸

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . The failure of the U.S. to pass continued aid for Ukraine could cause the “worst atrocity in history,” Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said during a summit hosted by Axios on March 19.

The U.S. Senate passed the foreign aid bill in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to put it to a vote in his chamber, despite the pressure from the White House and other members of Congress.

The Pentagon was able to cobble together $300 million in funding for Ukraine earlier in March, the first such aid package in months, but defense officials warned it was unlikely to be repeated and that congressional action will be required for further aid.

Manchin, a Democrat from solidly Republican West Virginia, has said he plans to retire at the end of the year, all but ensuring that Democrats will lose his seat.

“We can’t let Ukraine go through this, if it comes through the spring and we haven’t helped Ukraine, God help us,” Manchin said onstage during Axios’ annual What’s Next Summit.

“That’ll be the worst atrocity in history that your children or grandchildren be reading about that we’ve done.”

Manchin’s comments are the latest in a long line of warnings from American, European, and Ukrainian officials that paint a dire picture if the U.S. stops providing aid to Ukraine.

The ongoing impasse over U.S. aid has already been credited as contributing to Ukraine’s loss of the key city of Avdiivka in February.

Photo: Senator Joe Manchin/X

Thank you, Senators! 🙏 Now it’s up to the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress to approve this vital foreign aid bill so that it can be signed into law by @potus. 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇺🇸

#Repost @weareukraine.info with @use.repost . . . In a 70-29 final vote that surpassed the 60-vote threshold, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the long-contested $95.34 billion foreign aid bill in the early hours of Feb. 13, 2024, @cnn reported. The legislation will now be sent from the Democrat-led Senate to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The foreign aid package includes $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, as well as $14.1 billion allocated for Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine among others, and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region, such as Taiwan. According to Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova, the procedural vote and speeches took over six hours. “We thank the leaders of the Senate and all who have extended support to Ukraine in this critical time,”Markarova wrote on Facebook.

The Senate passed the legislation after Republicans blocked a broader bill last week that combined foreign aid with a bipartisan border deal. U.S. President Joe Biden has been urging lawmakers over the course of several months to provide new aid to Ukraine amidst calls from Ukrainian officials for reinvigorated military support for the country as it defends itself from Russian aggression while experiencing weapons shortages. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the decision: “It’s been years, perhaps decades, since the Senate passed a bill that so greatly impacts not just our national security, not just the security of our allies, but the security of western democracy,” he said.

Both houses of Congress must approve the legislation before Biden can sign it into law, with a “showdown” expected in the House as early as Feb. 14, 2024, as Speaker Mike Johnson has issued vocal criticism of the bill.

For security, economic stability and the future of democracy in the free world, aid for Ukraine must remain the top priority. 🇺🇦🇺🇸💙💛🇩🇪🇺🇦

#Repost@kyivindependent_official with @use.repost. . . . German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Washington in the first half of February for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden as the leaders aim to ensure continued Western assistance to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 26, citing unnamed sources.

The purported meeting comes as over $100 billion in U.S. and EU military and financial aid remain stalled by domestic political turmoil.

Scholz and Biden plan to hold a bilateral meeting at the White House during the second week of February, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

No official announcements on the meeting have been made.

Photo: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg via Getty Images