‘Thank You America!’: Ukraine’s Zelensky and Israel’s Netanyahu hail House passage of $95 billion foreign aid package

By CNN

Published April 20, 2024 4:10 PM

CNN

By Maria Kostenko, Andrew Carey, Frederik Pleitgen, Tamar Michaelis and Samantha Waldenberg, CNN

(CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu have thanked US lawmakers after they voted in favor of new aid packages for their countries worth billions of dollars.

“Thank you, America!” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram on Saturday, shortly after the House of Representatives passed the long-delayed Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act by a vote of 311-112.

The bill was part of a wider $95 billion package providing foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region. It provides nearly $61 billion to help Ukraine and others in the region fight Russia, while the House also passed funding worth $26.4 billion for Israel and $8.1 billion to counter China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific.

Zelensky said the decision would keep “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 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,” Zelensky added.

Meanwhile, the House passed the Israel Security Supplemental with a vote of 366-58.

“Thank you friends, thank you America!” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a post on social media, adding that the bill demonstrates “strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization.”

The measures still need approval from the Senate, which could begin voting on them as soon as Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden said the House passage of the foreign aid bills sent a “clear message” about America’s leadership to the globe, and urged the Senate to “quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law.”

Turning point for Ukraine?

The passing of the measures for Ukraine following months of resistance by some Republicans is seen by some as a potential turning point in the country’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s foreign minister told CNN the risk of a larger war in Europe had fallen following the vote.

“This is a historic day, when not only Ukraine got a boost of hope, but also the United States and all of the free world,” Dmytro Kuleba said.

Ensuring Russian President Vladimir Putin is defeated in Ukraine would protect the security and prosperity of Americans, he added.

“Enabling Ukraine to push back Russian aggression is equal to preventing a larger war in Europe and averting the risk of all wannabe aggressors plunging our world into chaos,” Kuleba said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova appeared less enthused, insisting to CNN in a statement Saturday that the aid package would only increase tensions.

“The allocation of US military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan will exacerbate global crises: military aid to the Kyiv regime is direct sponsorship of terrorist activity, to Taiwan is interference in China’s internal affairs, and to Israel is a direct path toward escalating unprecedented aggravation in the region,” the statement read.

‘A great morale booster’

Three Ukrainian servicemen told CNN the vote provided a much-needed shot in the arm — and all three fighters were clear on the weapons they now need from the United States.

“We thought that our partners had forgotten about us,” an intelligence officer with the call sign Bankir, currently serving in the Zaporizhzhia region, said in a phone conversation. “This news gives us a sense of support and understanding that we have not been forgotten.”

An artillery reconnaissance commander with the 110th mechanized brigade, who spent two years defending the industrial town of Avdiivka before it fell to Russia in February, had a similar message.

“When we feel support from the outside, it motivates us. After all, the military knows it cannot win with sticks and bows and arrows,” the commander, using his call sign Teren, told CNN. “For people who want to defeat the enemy, this news is a great morale booster.”

He went on: “To win, we need ammunition … we really need artillery shells because we have an artillery hunger. We also need drones, both reconnaissance and attack drones.”

Another soldier, Dmytro Kurylovich, fighting in eastern Ukraine with the National Guard, identified air defense and artillery as top priorities.

“First of all, we need air defense systems and artillery shells […] All big cities need air defense systems. Artillery is needed so that we can conduct a counter-offensive and fight back. If we have enough artillery, we will be able to liberate our territories faster and change the situation at the front,” he said in an audio message to CNN.

“Morale changes depending on whether there is ammunition,” he added, throwing into sharp relief the impact on Ukraine’s soldiers of being outgunned by Russian forces ten to one – a ratio recently reported by Ukraine’s president in an interview.

The intelligence officer Bankir also described how frontline soldiers would feel more secure knowing the rest of the country was better protected from Russian missile strikes.

“We need air defense systems. Here at the front, we need to be sure that our families in the back are protected and safe. Then we can fight,” he said.