Threats from the Kremlin pushed American aid, weapons can go immediately

After a delay that lasted a full six months, the outcome of the vote in the Senate was more than clear: 79 votes “for”, 18 “against”. This also means that a whole range of Republicans have given their vote for a huge package of military aid in the total amount of 61 billion dollars. The decision was previously approved by the House of Representatives.

The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, estimates that such a voting outcome is a “unified message from the Senate to the whole world.” The US will “always help democracies in times of need,” Schumer said.

“Terrifying on the Edge of War”

By the way, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his officials have recently intensified their rhetoric and increasingly threaten Ukraine’s allies.

After the House of Representatives in Congress passed the aid bill, threats immediately followed from the Kremlin.

Russia said on Monday that the US, Britain and France’s military support for Ukraine has pushed the world to the brink of a direct conflict between the world’s major nuclear powers that could end in disaster.

Just two days after US lawmakers approved billions of dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States and NATO were obsessed with inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia.

Lavrov said the West’s support for Ukraine puts the United States and its allies on the brink of direct military conflict with Russia.

– The Westerners are teetering dangerously on the edge of a direct military conflict between the nuclear powers, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences – said Lavrov.

The weapon moves almost immediately

As soon as the votes in the Senate were counted, US President Joe Biden announced that he would sign the law as soon as it reached his desk. Likewise, the American president announced that the first shipment of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine will arrive this week.

According to information from the New York Times, these are weapons and equipment that are already in the warehouses of the US Army in Europe, and there are no obstacles for them to move towards Ukraine practically immediately. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder explained before the Senate that this is primarily about what Ukraine needs most at the moment: air defense systems and artillery ammunition.

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst was asked on the NPR TV station what the long-awaited aid would mean for the course of the war: “It is definitely not too late for Ukraine. Our failure to not send them aid for six months led to significantly more Ukrainian victims, even among civilians, given the massive Russian airstrikes,” the former ambassador believes.

But, as he adds, the Ukrainians manage to hold the front and this is a great help.

– If we now return support to Ukraine and maintain it at the level before this delay, Ukraine will win – Herbst is convinced.

And, as he said, if the American government gathers courage and supplies Ukraine with even longer-range weapons, “that victory will come even sooner.”

The military aid now approved by the Senate also applies to Israel, in the amount of 26 billion dollars. And this is primarily about air defense systems, but also other military assistance.

Nine billion is earmarked for humanitarian aid, including for the people of the Gaza Strip. In addition, there is eight billion in aid to Taiwan and other partners of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain a military balance against China.

(Deutsch Vela)