WASHINGTON: After months of delay, the House of Representatives Saturday voted in favor of billions of US dollars in aid to Ukraine.
The bill faced strong opposition in Congress and required a fragile bipartisan agreement to finally pass the House.
When the bill was passed, the House of Representatives raised the Ukrainian flag amid cheers from some members.
The $61bn package was approved by 311 votes to 112.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said he wanted to implement the measure even if it jeopardized his position. After Saturday’s vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he wanted to thank the House of Representatives, both parties, and Speaker Mike Johnson personally for the decision to put history on the right track.
“Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it.”
The bill will now be transmitted to the Senate, which is expected to pass it in the next few days before President Biden signs it into law.
In a statement released after Saturday’s vote, Biden urged the Senate to approve it quickly “so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs”.
Spokeswoman for Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova described America’s military aid to Ukraine as a “direct support for terrorist activities”.
Ukraine is relying on Western weapons and desperately needed the aid as it struggles to contain invading Russian troops.
