White House on Ukraine aid: Putin not waiting while Congress refuses to act
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby (Getty Images)
The US President administration urged the House of Representatives to promptly support a bill on aid to Ukraine against the background of massive Russian shelling, according to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby.
"Ukrainian officials say that at least 10 different regions of their country were struck, leaving more than 1 million homes without electricity," the official said.
He added that these attacks "once again demonstrate how vital it is" that the United States continue to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and armaments – "the tools that they need to protect themselves and their infrastructure."
"Putin is not waiting. He’s not sitting on his hands. He’s making lethal use of every single minute available to him while our own Congress refuses to act. He’s not wavering, neither should we," the official added.
Kirby stressed that the House of Representatives "must pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible so that we can provide Ukraine with this vital equipment."
"And as we’ve seen in just the last couple of days, every single day the House delays is another day that the Ukrainians have to pay for it with their own blood," the White House representative concluded.
Massive strike on Ukraine
On the night of March 22, Russian forces launched a combined missile and air strike against Ukraine, using 151 air attack tools. 92 enemy targets were destroyed by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, including 55 Shahed drones, 35 cruise missiles Kh-101/Kh-555, and 2 guided aviation missiles Kh-59.
The energy sector was targeted by the enemy. In particular, the occupiers targeted Dnipro HPP, with a threat to fully blackout Zaporizhzhia NPP. A critical situation arose in Kharkiv – the city was without power and faced internet and water supply disruptions.
Power outages also hit the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, Odesa, and Khmelnytskyi regions. Critical infrastructure objects were also attacked in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and Mykolaiv regions.
According to Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukrenergo, this attack on Ukraine's energy sector was the largest since the beginning of the full-scale war. For more details on the massive combined Russian strike on Ukraine and its consequences, read the report on RBC-Ukraine.
US assistance to Ukraine
The US Congress has been unable to approve new funding for aid to Ukraine for several months. As a result, arms supplies have been practically suspended.
The US Senate has already passed a bill providing about $60 billion in aid to Ukraine on a non-repayable basis. To enact the document, the support of the House of Representatives is required.
House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to even bring such an initiative to a vote. He has repeatedly stated that he wants to consider aid to Ukraine in connection with money for protecting the American border from migrants.
At the same time, Politico reported that congressional Republicans increasingly supported the idea of providing Ukraine with part of the aid in the form of a loan.
