Both U.S. congressional parties back bill to aid Ukraine — Ukraine’s PM following meetings with US officials

The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, reported the information.

The Ukrainian delegation has completed its visit to the United States.

According to Shmyhal, there were three key topics that were worked on:

• unblocking military and financial assistance from the United States.
• American investments in the Ukrainian economy.
• utilization of Russian frozen assets.

"We have finally seen progress in unblocking US aid. The bill provides for $61 billion to support Ukraine," the Prime Minister said.

The bulk of the aid will go to military needs, while $7.8 billion is budget support an over $1.5 billion is economic aid. 

Congress is also planning to consider a bill to confiscate frozen Russian assets for the needs of Ukraine. 

Shmyhal held personal meetings with Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitchell McConnell, Senator Roger Wicker and the Senate Ukraine Caucus. 

"We received assurances of support for the bills from both parties. We expect that this large package of assistance from the United States will be voted on in the near future," the Prime Minister emphasized.

• On April 12, it was reported that Mike Johnson was in talks with the White House about Republican amendments to the aid package for Ukraine and Israel.
• On April 15, 91 congressmen representing both parties signed a letter in the US House of Representatives calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to introduce the Senate-approved bill to aid Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan to the parliament for an "immediate vote."
• House Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed dividing the international aid bill into 4 separate parts, including aid to Ukraine. The Biden administration is ready to consider the initiative.
• After a secret meeting on the situation in Ukraine on April 16, representatives of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee called on Congress to immediately vote for aid to Kyiv, as the situation is critical.
• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson promised to put a bill containing aid to Ukraine to a vote on Saturday, April 20. US President Joe Biden promised to sign it immediately.