Russia-Ukraine 4.21: Historic moment: The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ukraine Aid Act!
Original Xiao Liang Jun Wuling 2024-04-21 19:13
Morning Mist / Repost
Original Creator: Sue Fei
Dear readers and friends, this is a series of original articles on the war situation between Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan on April 21, 2024.
Today, there is great news: On April 20, local time, the US House of Representatives voted to pass a foreign aid bill worth $95 billion. The bill includes more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, more than $26 billion to Israel, and more than $8 billion in aid to Indo-Pacific security.
According to media reports, after the bill was passed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both issued messages thanking the United States. In addition, both US President Joe Biden and the Kremlin responded.
Before the formal vote, some Republican lawmakers proposed to reduce or abolish aid to Ukraine, but all amendments were rejected by the overwhelming majority of representatives of both parties. In addition, Republican Rep. Keith Self offered to send the bill back to the committee for reconsideration, but it was immediately vetoed.
The bill passed by a margin of 311 to 112, with all 112 negative votes coming from Republicans. This is a good indication that even within the Republican Party, half of the lawmakers believe that aiding Ukraine is the right thing to do and a priority.
I think this should indeed be the consensus of all peace-loving humanity in the world. We can also see on the footage that after the passage of this long-awaited and iconic bill, lawmakers stood up excitedly and talked to each other to celebrate this historic achievement.
At this moment, I believe it is difficult for anyone to remain completely indifferent, because this bill is not only about the transfer of resources, but also about independence and justice.
I also have a video of only 5 seconds long after the results of the vote were announced, and the deputies in the chamber waved the Ukrainian flag in celebration and shouted "Glory to Ukraine", a festive atmosphere:
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The Speaker had to remind everyone that it was not proper to wave flags inside the chamber, but he clearly could not suppress the excitement of the people, after all, everyone had waited too long.
Mike Johnson also gave a testimonial, saying that he did what he thought was right. Although Congresswoman Green accused the speaker of betraying the United States on the issue of aid to Ukraine, Johnson stressed that the aid bill could save Americans from going to Ukraine to fight:
There is also good news as a side note: one of the four bills passed by Congress is to support the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine by the United States, and according to this process, Ukraine has the potential to receive nearly $8 billion.
For this historic good news, the Ukrainians are of course extremely happy and excited. Zelensky wrote on social media late on the 20th:
"I am grateful to the U.S. House of Representatives, both parties, and Speaker Mike Johnson for their decision to put history on the right track," and "The vital American aid bill passed by the House of Representatives today will stop the war from spreading, save thousands of lives, and help our two countries emerge stronger."
It is appropriate for Zelensky to praise the House of Representatives with such beautiful words, because the United States is the main force of military aid to Ukraine, and the air defense systems, missiles and various other high-tech weapons that Ukraine needs to continue its war mainly rely on imports from the United States. The passage of the aid bill for Ukraine has once again given Ukraine hope of shortening the war and achieving a complete victory as soon as possible.
The passage of such a bill by the House of Representatives demonstrates the United States' responsible attitude and ultimate stance of courage to stand up in the face of the human catastrophe. A timely U.S. helping hand will indeed save many Ukrainians' lives, inspire Ukrainians to continue fighting, and give Ukraine a new lease of life.
At the same time, the United States will be strong again because of its moral and responsible spirit to its allies.
Zelensky also boasted about Johnson by the way, and we all know that it was this person's uncompromising implementation of Trump's decision to "choke" the Ukraine aid bill that made Biden's aid bill for Ukraine delayed for half a year. Johnson was so faithful that he finally allowed the bill to be put to a vote when he couldn't find any reason, and public opinion was about to reverse and would turn against the Republican Party and Trump, and he also said a lot of beautiful things about himself, which is really sanctimonious. However, Zelensky did not have any criticism of Johnson, showing his measure and open-mindedness.
It is estimated that the bill will pass the Senate in two or three days (the Senate was scheduled to adjourn next week, but will now come back to pass this legislation), and will be signed into law by Biden as soon as possible. The Pentagon has previously stated that it has already fully communicated with the Ukrainian side and prepared all kinds of weapons, equipment and ammunition urgently needed by the Ukrainian army, which will be delivered intensively within a few days or even weeks to alleviate the shortage of materials on the front line of the Ukrainian army.
And I guess that since the bill has been "stuck" for a long time, it is entirely possible that the US side will make some compensation. Thus, it is also possible that ATACMS tactical missiles with a range of 300 km will soon be approved for supply to Ukraine.
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As we all know, Johnson divided the bill into 4, so the bill to aid Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region was passed at the same time. In response, Netanyahu also posted on social media, expressing his gratitude to the United States, and saying that the bill shows "strong bipartisan support for Israel and the defense of Western civilization."
Biden praised the passage of the bill by the U.S. House of Representatives, claiming that "at this critical turning point, they [lawmakers from both parties] have united in answering the call of history." Biden also called on the Senate to approve the bill to aid Ukraine as soon as possible.
I don't think the bipartisan battle was pre-negotiated and wanted to "squeeze" the European allies. I believe that the Ukraine aid bill has been stuck for half a year because some people and certain groups put their own interests above the overall and long-term interests of the American people. However, the fact that the bipartisan dispute has not caused irreparable damage to the war in Ukraine and relations between the United States and its allies shows that the majority of lawmakers are still wise: their reason ultimately prevailed over emotion. I sincerely pray that the extremist ideology brought and instigated by Trump will slowly fade in the future.
In any case, extremism is the common enemy of mankind all over the world. If the influence of extremism cannot be eliminated at the level of national decision-making, then the material and spiritual civilization that our predecessors have worked so hard to build will collapse at a very rapid pace, and I am afraid that it will not benefit anyone. Such historical lessons, which have happened again and again in the history of mankind, and are very likely to continue to occur, deserve warning from all of us.
I am also proud of the fact that in the past six months, I have called for the United States to immediately assist Ukraine. Many people around the world stayed up all night waiting for this historic vote.
A Ukrainian soldier sent a text message from Donbass:
"The whole team was watching. After the polls, cheers could be heard throughout the trenches: 'Great!'"
It is entirely conceivable that the passage of the bill rekindled their will to fight, because the soldiers could be confident that they would be invincible.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also gave a congratulatory message on the adoption of the bill:
"The main obstacle to U.S. assistance to Ukraine has been overcome. The hearts of Ukraine's most important allies are beating at the same rhythm again!"
EU Foreign Representative Josep Borrell welcomed the bill, noting that the decision shows NATO's support for Ukraine against Russia's offensive.
European Council President Charles Michel welcomed the bill and called it "a clear message to the Kremlin."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the bill.
Polish President Duda spoke highly of the bill's passage, saying that the aid package confirms the leadership of the United States among civilized nations and will help stop Russia's misdeeds.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also welcomed the bill, stressing that it will ultimately contribute to America's own security and strengthen U.S. leadership.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the decision of the US Congress to provide assistance to Ukraine is an important moment in the fight for freedom.
Inside the official residence of the French ambassador in Washington, D.C., USA, a Ukrainian flag was seen on the statue:
For the US Congress to approve the aid bill to Ukraine, the most sour is, of course, the Russians. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "this will make the United States richer and further destroy Ukraine, resulting in more Ukrainians killed".
In fact, Peskov does not have to shed crocodile tears for the Ukrainians who defend their homeland, every Ukrainian who died in the war was because of Russia. If it were not for Russia's misdeeds, Ukraine would not have had to bear such a human and material cost. But it is precisely because of this war that the Ukrainians have found an opportunity to get rid of the entanglement from the east, go all the way to the west, and be reborn in Nirvana, which is probably a completely unforeseen result of the initiators of the war.
At this turning point in the war, in the face of inevitable defeat, Russia would do well to wisely announce its surrender and completely withdraw from the Crimean Peninsula and eastern Ukraine, deeply reflect on the lessons of defeat, punish those responsible for the war, and take measures to avoid a similar situation from happening again.
Otherwise, they will face a shameful total defeat and be nailed to the pillar of shame of history, the kind that cannot be scraped off.
At the end of today's content, I will briefly report on the overall situation of the war between Russia and Ukraine:
1. Overall battle situation: On the 788th day of the war, according to the report on the results released by the Ukrainian General Staff this morning local time, in the past day, a total of 115 battles took place on the entire front, most of which took place in the Avdiivka direction.
2. Russian army losses: As of yesterday, the Russian army has accumulated 459,530 casualties, and 950 new losses were added yesterday.
The Ukrainian army also destroyed a total of 7,229 Russian tanks, 16 new ones, 13,896 armored vehicles, 23 new ones, and 11,719 artillery pieces, 41 new ones.
Whether the bill is passed or not, no matter what is happening in the rest of the world, the brave and united Ukrainian military and civilians are fighting for themselves every day, tenaciously and unyieldingly!
That's it for today. After the long-awaited bill for Ukraine is passed in the House of Representatives, it will soon pass the Senate and be signed by Biden into effect, and then it will be time for the Russians to tremble.
It's been a really enjoyable weekend, and I'm ready to add a meal, and I've already bought it. Have a great weekend to you all!
Information source: 2024-04-21 WeChat official account Wuleng
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