US president signs $61bn bill to provide new aid for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine, with the Pentagon quickly announcing a $1 billion package headed for Kyiv, featuring desperately needed air defense and artillery munitions.
The legislation -- which also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan and a measure to potentially ban TikTok in the United States -- comes after months of delay that saw Ukrainian forces run short of ammunition and suffer battlefield setbacks.
"I just signed into law the national security package that was passed by the House of Representatives this weekend, and by the Senate yesterday," Biden told reports, saying he is "making sure the shipments start right away, in the next few hours."
"It's going to make America safer, it's going to make the world safter and it continues American leadership in the world and everyone knows it," Biden said of the legislation.
"It gives vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and to the lives and freedoms of their citizens."
The Pentagon quickly announced a $1 billion package for Kyiv using the new funding that includes air defense batteries and munitions, dozens of HIMARS precision rocket launchers, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition.
- Thousands of armored vehicles -
The package also includes thousands of armored vehicles, including 31 Abrams tanks, 45 T-72B tanks and more than 200 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
The aid legislation -- valued at a total of $95 billion only passed the House of Representatives after months of acrimonious debate among lawmakers over how or even whether to help Ukraine -- which Russia invaded in February 2022 -- defend itself.
A similar aid package passed the Senate in February, but had been stalled in the House while Republican Speaker Mike Johnson -- heeding calls from ex-president Donald Trump and his hardline allies -- demanded concessions from Biden on immigration policies, before a sudden reversal.
The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, but Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv for nearly a year and a half, and the financing of the war has become a point of contention ahead of a presidential election in November.
Ukraine's military is facing a severe shortage of weapons and recruits as Moscow exerts constant pressure from the east, with frontline circumstances are expected to worsen in the coming weeks.
The legislation signed by Biden on Wednesday also includes a provision to ban TikTok if it does not cut ties with its Chinese parent company.
TikTok plans to fight the measure in court, with its CEO Shou Zi Chew saying in a video message on the platform that "this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice."
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