Chernihiv, Ukraine – During her pregnancy, Tamara had to hide in the icy basement of her home in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv for three weeks.
“when [Russian bomber] Planes were over us and the only thing we could do was pray,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that her city was devastated when the war began in February 2022. , recalled that two-thirds of its 300,000 residents were forced to leave.
She relived this horror on April 17, when a Russian missile attack killed 18 people and injured dozens more.
“Why can't the Western world understand that each day of delay means more deaths?” He spoke outside.
She was referring to U.S. military aid, which has been stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives since October due to opposition from House Republicans allied with former President Donald Trump.
Late Saturday, the House of Representatives finally approved the $61 billion package, and millions of Ukrainians breathed a sigh of relief.
The bill includes $23 billion to replenish the stockpile of U.S.-made weapons and expand future military transfers.
Another $14 billion will be used to purchase advanced weapons directly from U.S. military contractors, and $11 billion will fund U.S. military operations in the region, training for Ukrainian forces, and increasing intelligence cooperation between Kyiv and Washington. Ru.
The $8 billion in non-military aid will be used to support the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, including paying salaries.
A symbolic “handout”?
One of Ukraine's top military experts said the policy would not change the course of the war.
Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, a former deputy commander of the Ukrainian army's general staff, said the aid could “improve the situation” on the 1,000-kilometre-long front.
But he told Al Jazeera that the aid was “a handout to show that we are not forgotten and nothing more.”
“They’re always late, they hit the brakes, they’re scared,” he said. “Everything is done to catch up [with Russia]However, wars are won by those who act in advance. ”
The package includes anti-tank guided missiles and 155mm shells for standard NATO artillery, potentially ending the hopeless “shell hunger” of the outgunned Ukrainian army. .
There are also missiles, armored vehicles and air defense weapons.
But to advance and win the war, rather than contain Russian forces, Ukraine needs long-range missiles with modern warheads, better air defense capabilities and F-16 fighter jets, Romanenko said. Told.
In recent months, Russian bombers have been raining so-called “glider bombs” on Ukrainian positions on the Eastern Front, leading to the capture of the key stronghold of Avdiivka.
The bomb, fitted with wings and a guidance system, carries half a ton of explosives and can destroy once-impregnable fortresses and hideouts.
“After surviving the bombing, we will collect the remains of our comrades in plastic bags,” a Ukrainian soldier stationed in Avdiivka told Al Jazeera.
Ukraine has long asked the West for F-16s capable of shooting down and defeating Russian bombers.
While other NATO countries have pledged to supply up to 45 jets, Washington has refused to donate its own aircraft.
However, Kiev will only be able to sign their first six players in July.
The White House has also been reluctant to provide another essential weapon, long-range missiles known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), for fear that Kiev will use them to strike deep into Russia. Ta.
Ukraine only received the older ATACMS missiles in September and used them to attack two military bases in Russian-occupied territory.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that a new ATACMS missile with a maximum range of 300 kilometers (186 miles) was secretly supplied to Ukraine.
The weapon attacked a military airfield in Russia-annexed Crimea on April 17, destroying or seriously damaging four advanced S-400 air defense systems and three radar stations, the statement said.
Aid for supplies, but “not for advance payment''
Other observers agreed that the aid package was designed to keep Ukraine on the defensive and not allow for a counterattack to take back occupied territory.
The aid “remarkably corresponds to the needs of the Ukrainian army, which lacks all types of air defense weapons and also needs stockpiles of tank destroyers, anti-infantry mines, and other types of ammunition,” Germany said. Nikolai Mitrokhin said. Bremen University told Al Jazeera.
“Obviously we need it to get infantry and other ground forces to the front lines, but not for advancement. Otherwise the US would have given us tanks,” he said.
Ukrainians with direct knowledge of the needs of the Ukrainian military blame the lack of weapons for a counterattack.
“It is important that this assistance not only contain the enemy on Ukrainian territory, but also help launch attacks.” [Russia] Go back to the borders of Ukraine in 1991,” Oleksandr Antibysh, a volunteer with Chernihiv's “Recover Our History” group, told Al Jazeera.
But there may be more dangerous political traps in Ukraine.
Kiev-based analysts say that by including the Ukraine package in the bill, which also includes military aid to Israel and Taiwan, the United States is showing the world that it is equating Russia and Iran, archenemies of Ukraine and Israel, with China. He said it shows.
“This is a powerful geopolitical slap in the face for China,” Alexei Kushchi told Al Jazeera.
The bill's approval comes ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing, which began on Wednesday.
The United States has long urged China to stop Russian companies from trading in renminbi and exporting dual-purpose items such as civilian drones, computer chips and machine tools that can be used to make weapons. .
This pressure could force Beijing to seek closer ties with Moscow, resulting in a shift away from Moscow, which has diverted hydrocarbon exports eastward in response to Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. May result in additional economic benefits.
“Russia-China trade increased to $240 billion last year, and the more the United States pushes China, the more China can get oil and gas discounts from Russia,” Kushchi said.
