Ukrainians are heavily dependent on US military aid, which has totaled about $3.8 billion since the start of the conflict.
This should be facilitated by President Joe Biden’s signing on Monday of a law that will speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine (Lend-Lease to Protect Democracy in Ukraine). This law restores the mechanism adopted by former US President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 to help Europe resist Hitler, and gives the US President expanded powers to support military action in Europe.
“I am convinced that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin believes that he can destroy NATO, that he can destroy the European Union,” Biden later said during a political cashout.
For his part, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky described the adoption of this law as a “historic stage”. “I am convinced that we will win together again,” he tweeted. We will defend democracy in Ukraine and in Europe, as we did 77 years ago.”
The law was passed on May 9, coinciding with Russia’s holding a major military parade on Moscow’s Red Square to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, during which Putin reiterated his arguments to justify his February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
He stated that Kyiv was preparing to attack pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country and sought to obtain an atomic bomb and gain the support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “A completely unacceptable threat was being created right at our border,” he added.
After his speech, 11,000 soldiers and dozens of pieces of equipment, including strategic rocket launchers and tanks, including units returning from the Ukrainian Front, marched through Red Square. According to the Kremlin, the air show was canceled due to bad weather.
