U.S. President Joe Biden is speeding up the process of providing military aid to Ukraine, as the war enters its third month
Biden is vowing to support Ukraine “in their fight to defend their country and their democracy” against Vladimir Putin’s terror.
The bill was passed in the House last month with a 417-10 vote, and unanimously through the Senate, a rare moment of bipartisanship for lawmakers.
The President signed into law S3522, the “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022,” making it easier to export military equipment to Ukraine.
Biden sped up military aid to Ukraine on Monday, signing a present-day version of a lending program that helped defeat Hitler’s Germany.
The original Lend-Lease Act let Washington lend or lease weapons to its allies — the new version will allow the same to Ukraine immediately.
Before he signed the bill, Biden said it was time again to form a global force for peace.
“Every day Ukrainians pay with their lives and they fight along with the atrocities that the Russians are engaging in are just beyond the pale. And the cost to the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly. That’s why we’re staying in this.”
The sole condition is repayment at some later date, and the policy will also help other eastern European countries affected by Russia’s invasion.
President Vladimir Putin calls Russia’s actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm the country and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascism claim is a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by Russia.
The signing came the same day U.S. lawmakers agreed to rush nearly $40 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
A proposal for additional COVID-19 funding, which some Democrats wanted to pass along with the emergency Ukraine aid, will now be considered in a separate vote, something Senate Republican Mitch McConnell told reporters he was pleased about.
He had repeatedly advocated for a “clean” Ukraine bill in the Senate.
Both houses of Congress are expected to quickly approve additional funding for Ukraine, which exceeds the $33 billion requested by Biden last month.
The expedited funding comes just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Congress to act quickly, writing that the military had just enough money to send weapons to Ukraine for the next two weeks.
Reuters
