Iran Press/America: The legislation allows lend-lease deals for military equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries to enhance weapons transfers.
"Every day, Ukrainians pay with their lives, and they fight along — and the atrocities that the Russians are engaging in are just beyond the pale. And the cost of the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly. That’s why we’re staying in this," Joe Biden said.
The US Senate earlier approved a bill to supply Ukraine with arms under the Lend-Lease program in order to make it easier to provide military assistance to Kyiv. As noted on the website of the upper chamber of Congress, the document, initiated on January 19 by a group of senators led by Republican John Cornyn, was passed unanimously.
US lawmaker Thomas Massie, one of the few members of Congress to vote against the legislation, warned following its passage that the recent bill allows the transfer of "virtually any weapon of war" other than nuclear arms.
Russia has repeatedly warned the West against pumping Ukraine with weapons, fearing they might fall into the hands of terrorists. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense said the flow of weapons will not affect the outcome of Russia's special operation.
The measure, which borrows its name from a law that ended the US policy of neutrality ahead of World War II and stepped up support to the UK and other allies, cuts some red tape but does not include additional funding. Biden has separately asked Congress for $33 billion in aid to Ukraine, including several billion dollars for weapons and security assistance.
“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool in our effort to support the people of Ukraine,” Biden said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US has been able to deliver weapons into the hands of the Ukrainian government within 72 hours after the president authorized them.
“We have cut through a lot of red tapes,” Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee late last month. “We want to make sure that we continue to drive this as effectively and efficiently as possible.”
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that funding for the drawdown authority Biden has used to send weapons to Ukraine would run out by the third week of May. He called on Congress to quickly pass the $33 billion supplemental that has been stalled in Congress amid a dispute over immigration and abortion.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky called the signing of the Lend-Lease law aimed to provide Ukraine with weapons by US President Joe Biden a historic step. "Grateful to POTUS and [the people of] the US for supporting Ukraine in the fight for our freedom and future. Today's signing of the law on Lend-Lease is a historic step. I am convinced that we will win together again. And we will defend democracy in Ukraine. And in Europe. Like 77 years ago," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of putting an end to war crimes committed by Ukrainian troops against civilians during an eight-year offensive against Donbas. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Donbas people have been subjected to the "genocide" by "Kyiv's regime", which was "hijacked" by nationalists and neo-Nazis after the West-backed coup in 2014.
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