Both houses of the US Congress have approved a bill that will provide almost $61B in aid to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden welcomed the Senate’s decision and, with his signature, cleared the way for the US to quickly resume arms shipments for Kyiv.
Also, the Pentagon immediately revealed the new $1B military aid package for Ukraine, which includes RIM-7 and AIM-9M air defense missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, firearms and additional ammunition, additional HIMARS ammunition, 155-mm and 105-mm artillery shells, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, MRAP vehicles, high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV), TOW anti-tank missiles, and Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems.
Ukrainian and US officials acknowledged that, for the first time, the assistance includes the longer-range version ATACMS, which Ukraine has long desired in a push to strike deeper into occupied territory.
“I’m making sure the shipments start right away. In the next few hours; literally in a few hours,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House.