Military equipment will be ‘in transit’ to Ukraine next week if Biden signs the bill

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that U.S. shipments of long-range missiles “will be on their way” to Ukraine next week as long as President Biden signs the foreign aid bill.

“I hope that once the president signs, we’re told that it’s there, the president’s signature, ensuring that Congress does its job that these materials will be on their way by the end of the week,” Warner said Sunday in the CBS News broadcast. Look at the nation.”

“And with that schedule, obviously the morale of the Ukrainians has been great, but it’s been undermined in the last few months when they literally got rationed bullets, eight to 10 bullets. per day,” he added. “And as for artillery shells, Russians 10-to-1, you cannot underestimate the determination and determination of the Ukrainians, but if they do not have the materials, they cannot transfer this battle to the Russians.”

Warner noted that the legislation states that long-range ATACMS missiles will be given to Kiev if the bill passes in the Senate and goes to Biden’s desk.

“The ATACMS – I believe that the government has been prepared to prepare or deliver ATACMS in recent months. It’s written into this legislation,” Warner said.

The House of Representatives on Saturday passed a long-sought foreign aid package that includes about $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific. It also includes a package of other national security measures, including a possible ban on the TikTok app.

The package now heads to the Senate, which is expected to approve it by the middle of next week.

The package comes after months of warnings from the Biden administration that Ukraine will fight Russian forces without any additional aid approved by Congress. Sharp divisions among lawmakers have stalled aid for more than a year, with mostly far-right lawmakers expressing concerns about continued funding for Ukraine.

Congress has not passed an aid package for Ukraine since late 2022, and any available funds dried up around the end of 2023, leaving Kiev in a dangerous position with depleted air defenses and artillery, both crucial in the war.

Russia has been advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, capturing the city of Avdiivka in February and threatening to take Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region.

Warner argued Sunday that the U.S. must be “prepared” for its own national security interests and pointed to Russia’s ties with China, Iran and possibly North Korea.

“I know the terminology used to be ‘Axis of Evil’, this could be the 2024 Axis of Evil combination of nations,” he said.

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