Ukraine updates: Biden signs bill releasing US military aid

Russia could make more gains against Ukrainian forces in the near future, the White House said.

"It is certainly possible that Russia could make additional tactical gains in the coming weeks," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

According to Sullivan, Ukraine has been rationing ammunition for the past six months and has lost territory as a result.

But now, with the new aid package approved, the US will be able to support Ukraine with aid through 2024, he added.

The Ukrainian government, further tightening rules on mobilization, has approved rules under which passports for military-age men can only be issued in the country.

The rules were announced a day after Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba suspended consular services for military-age men until May 18, criticizing those abroad for not serving in the war against Russia.

The government's latest decision stipulated that passports for foreign travel for men aged 18 to 60 could only be issued within Ukraine.

However, it said the rule did not apply to citizens who are now allowed to cross state borders during martial law, including those with disabilities.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men of military age live abroad, and the country faces a shortage of troops in the campaign opposing Russia's larger military.

Russia's GDP is "growing robustly on account of high government spending" on the war in Ukraine, according to the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), which issued an economic forecast for Eastern European countries on Wednesday.

After strong growth of 3.6% last year, Russia’s GDP growth is likely to slow to 2.8%. The WIIW noted, however, that this represents a "remarkable upwards revision of 1.3 percentage points for 2024."

Vasily Astrov, an economist at WIIW, said that Vladimir Putin"will not run out of money for the war."

"For the Russian economy, the question is rather what comes after the war, as it is currently completely dependent on it," he added, highlighting a significant surge in government expenditure, especially for the military.

The United States secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks for use in fight against Russian forces. Ukraine used them for the first time last week, according to unnamed US officials who spoke to Reuters and AP news agencies.

The missiles were included in a $300 million (€280 million euro) military aid package to Ukraine approved by US President Joe Biden on March 12. How many of the missiles were sent, the official would not say.

The missiles were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17. They were fired at a Russian airfield in annexed Crimea, about 165 kilometers (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.

One of the officials said the Biden administration continues to emphasize that the weapons cannot be used to hit targets inside Russia, only those inside Ukrainian territory. 

Whether to send the US Army's tactical anti-aircraft missile systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles), has been the subject of debate within the Biden administration for months.

Mid-range ATACMS were delivered last September.

Russia's use of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea against Ukraine in December and January, despite public and private warnings from the United States not to do so, led to a change of heart, the official said.

Also a factor in US decision-making was Russia's targeting of Ukraine's critical infrastructure. "We warned Russia about those things," the official said. "They renewed their targeting."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked US President Joe Biden for signing into law a military aid bill that is set to provide much-needed weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian forces. 

"Regardless of what anyone says, we are gaining the support we need to continue protecting lives from Russian attacks," Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Over the past few days, we have already been actively working with our American friends on all levels to include the exact types of weapons that our warriors require in this package," he added.

Earlier in April, Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of US European Command, warned that Ukrainian forces would be outgunned by a ratio of 10 to 1 within weeks if US aid wasn't passed. That meant that for every round of artillery fired by Ukraine, Russia can fire 10. 

President of the European Council Charles Michel also thanked US President Joe Biden for his "relentless work over the last months" on the Ukraine support package.

"We stand united in our commitment to support a free and independent Ukraine integrated in the euro-Atlantic community," Michel wrote on X.

US President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing long-awaited military aid to Ukraine.

A $95 billion (€89 billion) aid package includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with $61 billion earmarked for Ukraine.

The package was approved by the US Senate on Tuesday, after lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave their OK over the weekend.

"It gives vital support to America 's partners so they can defend themselves from threats to their sovereignty," Biden said at the White House.

The president's signature clears the way for the Pentagon to send the first package of $1 billion worth of military equipment to Ukraine using the new funding.

The shipments are expected to reach Ukraine from Poland and also from Germany and other European countries.

"I'm making sure the shipments start right away. In the next few hours — literally in a few hours — we are going to begin sending equipment to Ukraine for air defense munitions, for artillery for rocket systems, and armored vehicles," Biden said.

"America stands with our friends, we stand up against dictators, we bow to no one, to no one - certainly not Vladimir Putin," Biden said.

However, he added that the aid package should have arrived at his desk "sooner."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the US Senate lawmakers for approving a long-awaited $61 billion aid package "vital" aid for Ukraine, he wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy highlighted that the Senate vote strengthens the US role as a "beacon of democracy and leader of the free world."

The Ukrainian president stated that he appreciates the support of US President Joe Biden and "is looking forward to the quick signing of the bill and the provision of the next package of military aid to Ukraine, which will correspond to the determination I always feel in our negotiations." 

He also noted that "long-range capabilities, artillery and air defense are critically important tools for the speedy restoration of a just peace."

Russia sees a potential threat in NATO exercises in Finland, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA state news agency on Wednesday.

The drills will be conducted starting on April 26 in close proximity to the Russian-Finnish border. 

Zakharova dubbed them as "provocative in nature" and said that "their task is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation through a demonstration of force".

Russian energy sites in Smolensk, western Russia, are on fire after a Ukrainian drone strike, Smolensk regional Governor Vasily Anokhin wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. There were reportedly no victims from the attack.

Metallurgical and pharmaceutical sites in the Lipetsk region, further south in western Russia were also targeted, as per a post from regional Governor Igor Artamonov on Telegram. No information about the casualties was provided. 

A source from Ukrainian intelligence told Reuters news agency that the depots, containing 26,000 cubic meters of fuel, were hit, causing major fires and evacuation of workers.

Attacks on energy production locations are part of a Ukrainian strategy to damage Russian military logistics.

"The SBU continues to effectively destroy military infrastructure and logistics that provide fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine. These facilities are and will remain our absolutely legitimate targets," the source said.

wd,dh,/wmr (AFP, Reuters, dpa)