Ukraine could get a fresh supply of US weapons “within days” after lawmakers there approved a $61 billion aid package for the war-torn country.
The US House of Representatives passed $95 billion in total aid for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine on Saturday.
About $61 billion is meant for Kyiv alone, which continues to fight Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.
But the Pentagon says the country won’t have to wait much longer for help.
“We have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly,” said Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder this week. “We can move within days.”
READ MORE: Russia responds to £48bn Ukraine aid package with chilling warning to NATO
Ryder said the Pentagon had already shipped weapons closer to Ukraine in hopes that Congress would act soon.
Until Saturday, the bill had been stalled for nearly six months as far-right Republicans, who are wary of spending money abroad, asked for concessions on the US-Mexico border in exchange for the foreign aid.
The bill is expected to pass in the Senate early this week before it makes its way to Joe Biden’s desk.
Russia is clearly angered by the new round of funding.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in remarks reported by Russia’s state news agencies: “The decision 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.”
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia‘s security council, said the approval of new aid to Ukraine was “Russophobic” and would exacerbate “the number of victims of this war.”
He also said on Telegram: “I cannot with all sincerity not wish the United States to plunge into a new civil war as quickly as possible.”
This is despite the fact that Russia is advancing in the easternmost Donbas region.
Ukraine is now desperately trying to defend Chasiv Yar, a city located in the hills not far from another key city – Bakhmut.
Lt. Oles Malyarevich, deputy commander of the Achilles strike battalion, told the Telegraph: “Chasiv Yar is the most important high ground as it gives control and superiority and the chance to capture the Donetsk region.”
It is one of Ukraine‘s many “fortress cities” Ukraine is hoping to defend against Russia‘s incoming attacks.
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