U.S. Congress clears bill to allow lending arms to Ukraine

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow President Biden to use a World War II-era law to quickly supply weapons to Ukraine on loan, sending the measure to Mr. Biden’s desk hours after he urged Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars’ worth of additional emergency aid for Kyiv.

The 417-to-10 vote to invoke an extraordinary, eight-decade-old law created to battle Hitler reflected a growing bipartisan sense of urgency in Congress to bolster the Ukrainian military as it digs in for an ugly and protracted artillery war in the south and east of the country. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously this month.

Mr. Biden on Thursday asked Congress for $33 billion in additional defense, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. The funding, more than twice the size of the $13.6 billion package Congress passed last month, is projected to last for at least five months, according to an administration official who detailed the package on the condition of anonymity before its official release.

Roughly half of that figure is expected to fund new military assistance.

More information: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/us/politics/ukraine-lend-lease-arms.html