The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $60 billion foreign aid package on Saturday, providing a much-needed lifeline to Kyiv. The bill, which also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan, is expected to be approved by the Democratic-majority Senate this week before being signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to U.S. lawmakers for their support, stating that the aid "will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger." However, he urged the Senate to pass the bill quickly, emphasizing the importance of minimizing the time between political decisions and their impact on the battlefield.
Despite the renewed U.S. support, Ukraine faces significant military challenges. Defense analysts argue that while the funding could help boost Ukraine's military campaign, aid and supplies must be sent immediately to be effective. "Ukrainian forces may suffer additional setbacks in the coming weeks while waiting for U.S. security assistance that will allow Ukraine to stabilize the front, but they will likely be able to blunt the current Russian offensive assuming the resumed US assistance arrives promptly," noted analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
Ukraine's priority is to replenish artillery, air defense systems, and missile stocks depleted by recent Russian airstrikes targeting the country's energy infrastructure. Matthew Savill, military sciences director at London-based defense think tank RUSI, pointed out that while procurement of new materiel might create a lag, the Pentagon has pre-prepared some military hardware for donation to Ukraine to minimize delivery time. "It's unlikely this will create immediate parity with the Russian volume of fire, but it will help close the gap," Savill said.
However, long-term funding for Ukraine remains a point of contention, with analysts noting that further U.S. aid is not guaranteed, particularly given the uncertain outcome of the presidential election later this year. "The package will be welcome for the Ukrainian military ... but the main point is that this funding can probably only help stabilize the Ukrainian position for this year and begin preparations for operations in 2025," Savill added.
Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House, supports the proposal to use billions of dollars' worth of frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine, stating that the latest aid does not change the fact that Ukraine will continue to need significant amounts of funding. "Ukraine's financing to ensure victory in war and successful reconstruction can only be assured if the West pulls its finger out and allocated the $330 billion of immobilised assets to Ukraine," he said.
The urgency of the situation was highlighted by senior Western defense officials, who recently warned that Ukrainian troops were resorting to rationing their use of shells due to artillery and ammunition shortages in the east of the country. One top U.S. general told Congress that Russia was firing five artillery shells for every one fired by Ukrainian forces, and that this disparity could double in the coming weeks.
Russia has criticized the latest U.S. aid package, claiming that it will only lead to more carnage in the conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the aid "will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime." Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, was particularly scathing, saying that Ukraine "will function a little longer, more money will end up in their pockets, more weapons will be stolen, and tens of thousands of Ukrainians will go into the meat grinder."
