After months of political discourse and debate, President Biden has signed a $95 billion war aid bill into law. The aid package will include assistance for Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine, and other U.S. allies.
Of the $95 billion aid package, $61 billion is allocated for Ukraine and will be distributed in several payments to Ukraine. The first aid package of $1 billion is expected to include ammunition, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems(HIMARS), stinger air defense systems, 155-mm artillery rounds, infantry fighting vehicles, Humvees, javelins and other equipment.
“We rose to the moment, we came together, and we got it done,” Biden said when he announced the bill signing. “Now we need to move fast, and we are.”
For many Ukrainians, the news that the aid package passed Congress offered a renewed sense of hope, with the war in its third year.
Even though, according to NBC, Ukrainians fighting on the front line shared the same outlook that many Western Military analysts feel; too much damage has already been done. While the aid package is welcomed by Ukraine, $61 billion of supplies, on top of the $44.3 million which the U.S has already provided, may only go so far in helping Ukraine repel Russia.
Over the past several months, Ukraine has faced severe ammunition and personnel shortages that have severely impacted the effectiveness of the Ukrainian military on the front lines. Lack of supplies has allowed Russia to destroy its energy infrastructure, while Russian forces continue their ground advance.
Ukraine’s short supply of air defense capabilities allowed Russia to carry out an increase in attacks. A Russian artillery attack using 82 missiles and drones destroyed the Trypilska thermal power station in Kyiv on April 18.
According to an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, the Kremlin still maintains the ability to marshal its economy and population to support its invasion of Ukraine by destroying Ukrainian statehood and identity.
Ukrainian officials seem skeptical that the weapons supply will be delivered quickly enough to gain back lost ground from Russia over the next few months to gain momentum back from Russia.
Ukrainian President Vlodomir Zelensky explained the importance of getting these supplies as fast as possible.
“When we get [more supplies], when we have it in our arms, then we do have the chance to take this initiative and to move ahead to protect Ukraine,” Zelensky said about the aid package. “It depends on how soon we get this aid.”
As supplies will begin to arrive in Ukraine of the next coming weeks, and the ground begins to harden with warmer weather, many look to see how this changes the situation on the front lines in Ukraine
