US House of Representatives votes in favor of long-awaited aid package to Ukraine

On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on further assistance to Ukraine and supported the bill. The vote was 311 in favor (101 Republicans + 210 Democrats) and 112 against.

The procedure took place on Saturday evening at around 20:45 (Kyiv time). The meeting was broadcast online.

After the time for voting came to an end, supporters of Ukraine in the House of Representatives began to applaud and chant "Ukraine!". Democrats also waved blue and yellow flags.

Only representatives of the Republican Party (112 people) were among those who voted against the bill.

On this day, four separate bills were submitted to the US House of Representatives (on the initiative of Speaker Mike Johnson):

1) American national security issues, in particular: restrictions on the Chinese social network TikTok, provisions on the use of confiscated Russian assets, sanctions and other measures against Russia, China and Iran (HR 8038) - 360 votes in favor;

2) support for Taiwan (HR 8036) - 385 votes in favor;

3) support for Ukraine (HR 8035) - 311 votes in favor;

4) support for Israel (HR 8034) - 366 votes in favor.

Each of them managed to collect the required number of votes.

After the vote in the House of Representatives, the bill still has to pass the Senate (two votes, scheduled for April 23). After that, it will be sent to US President Joe Biden for his signature.

On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took procedural steps to ensure that the Senate begins voting on the foreign aid package passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, April 23, CNN reports. The Senate was supposed to be on recess next week, but politicians are returning to pass the legislation.

As a reminder, members of the lower house agreed to submit the draft law providing aid to Kyiv for consideration by vote a day earlier, on April 19 (316 votes in favor, 94 against).

The document provides funding ($60.8 billion) for the following purposes

- About 23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons, stockpiles and facilities;

- 11 billion to finance current US military operations in the region.

- Almost $14 billion will help Ukraine purchase advanced weapons systems and other defense equipment.

Some politicians tried to introduce amendments to the document (there were four in total), which were not supported during the April 20 vote:

1) Victoria Spartz wanted to exclude 8 billion in non-military aid (the amendment received only 105 votes in favor);

2) Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed to cut off all aid to Ukraine (only 70 votes in favor);

3) Kevin Hern wanted to block any economic aid that could be used to pay salaries to government officials in Ukraine (the amendment was canceled);

4) Kat Cammack tried to cancel all non-military funds for our country (only 154 votes in favor).

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked all American politicians who voted in favor, Speaker Mike Johnson personally, and "all American hearts who, like us in Ukraine, feel that Russian evil should definitely not win."

"This is a decision to protect life," the guarantor emphasized in his evening address to the nation on April 20.

"We thank our allies. Thank you to the American people. Let's win together," Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said.

"Today, members of both parties in the House of Representatives voted to advance our national security interests and sent a clear signal of the strength of American leadership on the world stage. At this critical juncture, they came together to meet the challenge of history by passing the much-needed national security legislation I have been fighting for months to secure," US President Joe Biden commented.

"Our three main adversaries - Russia, Iran, and China - are working together and are aggressors around the world. They pose a global threat to our prosperity and our security. Their advance threatens the free world and requires American leadership. If we turn away now, the consequences could be devastating," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the meeting.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that providing military assistance to Ukraine would have a positive impact on the security of Europe and the United States. And Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the package of bills voted for would "save lives."

"A bad day for Putin. A bad day for anyone who dared to believe that America could falter when it comes to defending what it stands for and who it stands for," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said .

Earlier, Ms. Ambassador of our country to the United States Oksana Markarova said that after the approval of the bill, the United States will be able to quickly - within days/weeks - start supplying weapons to our military.

Earlier, it was reported that Joe Biden's administration also expects that the supply of military aid to Kyiv will begin "immediately" after the bill with additional funding is approved. The US President promised that he would sign the document immediately.

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