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Ukraine urgently needs support. After months of blockage, there is finally movement in the US Congress. The news at a glance.
Kiev/Washington/Brussels – In view of the threatening situation for Ukraine, there is movement in the Western planning of new arms deliveries, which has been stalled for months. In the US, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a much-needed aid package on Saturday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced.
The Control Committee of the House of Representatives published the legal texts, which will now be voted on. Around $61 billion in support is earmarked for Ukraine. It was also said that US President Joe Biden should provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missile systems “as soon as practicable”. Kyiv has been hoping for this for a long time.
17 dead in Chernihiv airstrike
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj asked the states of the European Union for more air defense systems against Russian air attacks. A Russian rocket attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed 17 people and injured around 60 people.
Before the EU heads of state and government, Zelenskyj referred to the successful defense against the Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel. “Our Ukrainian sky and the sky above our neighbors deserve the same security,” he said in a video link to the summit in Brussels.
The night began for Ukraine with an air alert in the east of the country. The Ukrainian Air Force reported incoming Russian combat drones. The city of Kharkiv, near the border with Russia, is being shelled. “Everyone in the shelters!” wrote the military on Telegram. On the Russian side, there was a missile alarm in the Belgorod area near the border. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said 14 Ukrainian artillery rockets had been repelled.
Long-awaited aid package from Washington
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian war of aggression for more than two years; Today marks the 785th day of the invasion. After the widespread failure of its 2023 summer offensive, the Ukrainian army has gone on the defensive in recent months. It lacks artillery ammunition, its own aircraft and means of defending itself against Russian fighter jets that drop bombs. At the front, numerically superior Russian troops are advancing in small steps. In the Ukrainian hinterland, heavy rocket and drone attacks have destroyed important parts of electricity production.
The USA has largely ceased to be the most important military supporter since the beginning of the year. The Senate voted in February for a billion-dollar aid package requested by Biden. However, the approval of the second chamber, the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have a narrow majority, was missing. Due to internal party power struggles within the parliamentary group, no vote has yet taken place.
Johnson now decided to put the aid to a vote – but to vote separately on support for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. Part of the aid for Ukraine is intended as loans. In doing so, he wants to accommodate Republicans who view the aid critically or reject it.
It can be assumed that Johnson had his plan approved by former President Donald Trump. The two met on Friday at Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Trump has repeatedly expressed opposition to aid to Ukraine, but has recently shown himself open to aid in the form of a loan. But the vote is tricky for Johnson because far-right Republicans are threatening him with a vote of no confidence.
Zelensky is concerned about the safety of nuclear power plants
The Ukrainian president also justified his request for more anti-aircraft defense with the destruction of the Ukrainian energy system. He said his country had lost almost all of its thermal power plants due to air strikes since mid-March. Russia is targeting hydroelectric power plants and gas supplies.
With the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Moscow is engaging in nuclear blackmail. Zelensky did not rule out that the infrastructure of other Ukrainian nuclear power plants could also be targeted. “This can only be stopped with anti-aircraft defense, through certain systems like Patriot, Iris-T, Samp-T, Nasams,” he said.
The EU pledged to mobilize further military support in the face of massive Russian missile and drone attacks. There is an urgent need to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and accelerate the delivery of all necessary military support, including artillery ammunition and missiles, an EU summit statement said.
EU Council President Charles Michel made it clear that decisions on more air defense systems for Ukraine were expected soon. “It’s not a matter of months. It’s a matter of days and weeks,” said the Belgian at the EU summit in Brussels. He could assure that everyone involved is doing everything possible to speed up the process.
NATO-Ukraine Council meets
At Ukraine's request, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council for Friday. It will be about Ukraine's urgent need for more air defense systems and artillery shells, said Stoltenberg in Brussels. Zelensky and the defense ministers of the member states should take part in the meeting. It was initially not known whether it would be organized via video conference or as a physical meeting.
In Berlin, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) called on the allies to quickly support Ukraine with anti-aircraft defenses. Contributions to countering Russian aggression “must come quickly,” they said in joint letters to their colleagues. They called on allies to take stock of all anti-aircraft systems in their arsenals and consider what could be given to Ukraine directly or in exchange with partners.
This will be important today
The foreign ministers of the group of seven economically strong democracies (G7) meet on the Italian island of Capri. Stronger support for Ukraine is also an issue. The ministers are also discussing further sanctions against Iran in view of the impending conflagration in the Middle East. dpa
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