:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/DWB4X5EREMJYUNXHOIYXQGW4UU.jpg?fit=768%2C403&ssl=1)
2024-04-21 18:24:00
The decision of the United States House of Representatives to approve 61 billion dollars in long-delayed aid to Ukraine shows that the European country will not become “a second Afghanistan”the president said on Sunday Volodimir Zelensky on American television, but urged Washington to quickly turn the bill into law and proceed with the effective transfer of weapons.
”This aid will strengthen Ukraine and send a powerful signal to the Kremlin that it will not be the second Afghanistan,” Zelensky stated in an interview with the program Meet the Pressof the chain NBCin reference to the country that was invaded by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s.
The House of Representatives on Saturday approved a final, vast package of military and economic assistance for Ukraine in its fight against the invasion launched more than two years ago by Russian forces.
”The United States will stand with Ukraine, protect Ukrainians and… protect democracy in the world”Zelensky added.
“We really need to bring this to a close. “We have to get the Senate to approve it (…) so that the soldiers on the front lines receive tangible help as soon as possible, not within six months,” Zelensky declared.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, in the midst of the Cold War, triggering an insurgency movement supported by the United States, which financed and armed mujahideen fighters who expelled Russian forces a decade later.
Afghanistan then fell into civil war and soon the hardline religious Taliban took power, ruling most of the country from 1996 to 2001.
That year, his decision to allow the jihadist group Al Qaeda a safe haven caused the United States to invade Afghan territory after the September 11 attacks, which again sparked fighting with rebel groups.
Nearly 20 years later, the United States also finally withdrew from Afghanistan, leaving Afghan forces battered and exhausted allowing the Taliban to return to Kabul to take power again.
On the other hand, Zelensky said that part of his own forces are also “exhausted”.
”We need to replace them. But these new brigades must have the necessary equipment,” he explained to NBC.
The United States has been Ukraine’s main military backer against Russia, but Congress left large-scale funding for its ally unapproved for nearly a year and a half, mainly due to differences between Republicans and Democrats.
This aid must still be approved by the Senate, where the Democratic ruling party is the majority, and signed by the president Joe Biden, who repeatedly requested these funds. The Pentagon said it will move quickly to get support to Ukraine.
The Senate is expected to begin studying the bill approved by the lower house on Tuesday, with some preliminary votes that same afternoon. Final approval is expected next week, which would allow Biden to sign the law into law.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergwelcomed the decision of the United States House of Representatives last night, and assured that this will contribute to “making us all safer, both in Europe and North America.”
”I am pleased that the United States House of Representatives has approved a major new aid package for Ukraine. Ukraine is using weapons provided by NATO allies to destroy Russian combat capabilities. This makes us all safer, in Europe and North America”, stated Stoltenberg on the social network X.
The 61 billion for Ukraine have received the green light with 311 votes in favor, among which there were both Democratic and Republican congressmen, compared to 112 against, in a session in which Democrats cheered and waved Ukrainian flags.
In recent months, both Stoltenberg and other European NATO leaders had been urging the United States to unblock this aid package as soon as possible, at a time when the Ukrainian Army has been hard-pressed to defend itself against Russia’s offensive. due to the shortage of weapons and ammunition.
The president of Ukraine himself, Volodymyr Zelensky, had previously stated that whether kyiv’s forces would be able to maintain their positions or be forced to gradually withdraw would depend on this US aid package.
Now, the bill endorsed this Saturday by the House of Representatives will have to be validated by the Senatewhere the Democratic Party has a slim majority.
(With information from AFP, Reuters and EFE)
1713734701
#Zelensky #celebrated #approval #delayed #aid #Ukraine #Afghanistan