Stay informed with free updates
Simply register at War in Ukraine myFT Digest – delivered straight to your inbox.
Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington will quickly increase its military aid to Ukraine once Congress approves a $95 billion security funding plan this week.
The US president made the promise to Zelensky in a phone call on Monday, according to the White House, two days after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives led by President Mike Johnson voted in favor of help after months of delay.
The bill includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, as well as funding for Israel and the Indo-Pacific, and is expected to pass the Senate on Tuesday or Wednesday and be signed into law by Biden later in the week .
“President Biden said his administration will quickly provide significant new security assistance programs to address Ukraine’s urgent battlefield and air defense needs as soon as the Senate passes the bill. additional national security law and that he would have signed it,” the White House transcript of the call said. with Zelensky.
The new security aid is expected to include long-range ATACMS missiles, as well as munitions and other weapons systems, although White House and Pentagon officials have not provided specific details on the contents. of the next packet. Zelenskyy welcomed the imminent arrival of new military aid in his own account of the call with Biden.
Zelensky said: “The president assured me that the package would be approved quickly and that it would be powerful, strengthening our air defense as well as our long-range and artillery capabilities. »
The Ukrainian President also added: “Everything was decided during the ATACMS negotiations for Ukraine. I am grateful to President Biden, Congress, and all of America.
Biden and Zelensky’s comments highlight how Washington and kyiv are trying to make up for lost time in their efforts to boost Ukraine’s military capabilities, after delays in U.S. funding caused battlefield setbacks against the Russian forces.
Analysts at the Eurasia Group said the breakthrough at the Capitol would “significantly improve Ukraine’s military prospects for stabilizing the situation” in the country’s eastern region, where they have suffered the most.
“Low stockpiles of artillery and air defense ammunition have harmed the Ukrainian military’s ability to defend against Russian advances in Donetsk and drone and missile attacks on cities and power infrastructure throughout the country. country,” they said.
Biden had advocated for Congress to approve new funding for Ukraine since August of last year, including during a speech in the Oval Office in October. He also opened his State of the Union address in March by speaking about the urgency of helping kyiv defeat the Russian invasion.