Leaders of the now Russian-occupied city of Kherson have made a plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the region to become a part of Russia as Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine continues.
The deputy head of Kherson’s regional military and civilian administration Khrill Stremousov made the announcement of the Kherson region’s request to Putin at a news conference on Wednesday, according to the Russian media outlet Tass.
“The referendum, which was legally absolutely held in Crimea, was not recognized by the world community, which did everything not to recognize Russia as a full-blown member of the global community,” Stremousov said at the news conference.
“Therefore, this will be one single decree based on the appeal of the leadership of the Kherson region to Russian President Vladimir Putin. There will be a request to make the Kherson region a full-fledged constituent of the Russian Federation.”
The Washington Post reported that Stremousov, who was tapped by Russia to control the region, also said at the news conference that the framework of the defection will happen at the end of the year.
In a statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that it is up to the residents of Kherson to decide if they want their region to join Russia, adding that the possible move should have legal justification as well, according to Reuters.
This comes as Britain’s Ministry of Defense recently noted Russia’s plans to legitimize control in the pro-Moscow region, adding that Russia wants to transition the city’s currency from the Ukrainian hryvnia to the ruble.
“Recent statements from this administration include declaring a return to Ukrainian control ‘impossible’ and announcing a four-month currency transition from the Ukrainian hryvnia to the Russian rouble,” the ministry said. “The Russian rouble is due to be used in Kherson from today.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February, has killed thousands on both sides and displaced nearly 6 million Ukrainian citizens.
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At least five members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet are seeking to succeed him in 2023.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all members of his cabinet who nurse political ambitions to resign their current appointments, according to the country’s information minister.
“The mandate I have from the president is to announce that all members of the Federal Executive Council contesting for an elective office must resign their ministerial cabinet appointments on or before Monday, May 16, 2022,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed, told in the capital , Abuja, on Wednesday.
Mohammed specified that the instruction excludes Vice President Yemi Osinbajo because he was elected alongside Buhari.
The directive came after an appeal court sitting in Abuja ruled that a section of the amended electoral act passed this year, was unconstitutional. The clause prevents political appointmentees at any level from being “a voting delegate or be voting for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election”.
The appellate court held that the provision was “unconstitutional” because it denied a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in elections.
Statutory delegates, according to a signed statement from a presidential spokesperson to the Senate president, include the president, vice president, members of federal and state parliaments, governors and their deputies and others.
Asked if the directive would be extended to other federal appointees outside the cabinet like the central bank governor who is attempting an early presidential run, Mohammed said only ministers of the administration are asked to resign.
At least five members of the cabinet are seeking to succeed Buhari, whose second term in office ends in 2023, as president on the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). They include Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and Labor Minister Chris Ngige.
Abubakar Malami, justice minister and attorney general of the federation, is interested in the governorship position for the northwestern state of Kebbi.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian Senate had amended the electoral act to allow “statutory delegates”, to participate and vote in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties.
Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, who sponsored a bill for the amendment said the existing law did not “provide for the participation of what is generally known as ‘statutory delegates’ in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties”.
Omo-Age is believed to be interested in contesting for the governorship of the southern Delta state.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan said after the bill was passed the amendment became imperative in view of the deficiency created by the provision of section 84(8) of the Extant Act.
“The amended Electoral Act of 2022 that we passed this year, has a deficiency that was never intended and that deficiency will deny all status delegates in all political parties from participation in congresses and conventions,” Lawan said.
The primearies for the governing and leading opposition parties happen later this month.
Inflation may be soaring, supply chains remain snarled and the coronavirus just won’t go away, but United States casinos are humming right along, recording the best month in their history in March.
The American Gaming Association (AGA), the gambling industry’s national trade group, said Wednesday that US commercial casinos won more than $5.3bn from gamblers in March, the best single-month total ever. The previous record month was July 2021 at $4.92bn.
The casinos collectively also had their best first quarter ever, falling just short of the $14.35bn they won from gamblers in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the highest three-month period in history.
Three states set quarterly revenue records to start this year: Arkansas ($147.4m); Florida ($182m), and New York ($996.6m).
The numbers do not include tribal casinos, which report their income separately and are expected to report similarly positive results.
But while the national casino economy is doing well, there are pockets of sluggishness such as Atlantic City, where in-person casino revenue has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
“Consumers continue to seek out gaming’s entertainment options in record numbers,” said Bill Miller, the AGA’s president and CEO. He said the strong performance to start 2022 came “despite continued headwinds from supply chain constraints, labor shortages and the impact of soaring inflation”.
The trade group also released its annual State of the States report on Wednesday, examining gambling’s performance across the country.
As previously reported, nationwide casino revenue set an all-time high in 2021 at $53.03bn, up 21 percent from the previous best year, 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
But the report includes new details, including that commercial casinos paid a record $11.69bn in direct gambling tax revenue to state and local governments in 2021. That’s an increase of 75 percent from 2020 and 15 percent from 2019. This does not include the billions more paid in income, sales and other taxes, the association said.
It also ranked the largest casino markets in the US in terms of revenue for 2021:
The Las Vegas Strip is first at $7.05bn, followed by: Atlantic City ($2.57bn); the Chicago area ($2.01bn); Baltimore-Washington, DC ($2bn); the Gulf Coast ($1.61bn); New York City ($1.46bn); Philadelphia ($1.40bn); Detroit ($1.29bn); St Louis ($1.03bn); and the Boulder Strip in Nevada ($967m).
The association divides Pennsylvania’s casinos into three separate markets: Philadelphia, the Poconos and Pittsburgh. Their combined revenue of nearly $2.88bn would make them the second-largest market in the country if judged as a single entity. It also counts downtown Las Vegas, and its $731m in revenue, as a separate market.
Seven additional states legalized sports betting and two more added internet gambling in 2021.
The AGA reported that many states saw gamblers spending more in casinos while visiting them in lower numbers compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
The average age of a casino patron last year was 43 1/2, compared to 49 1/2 in 2019.
Americans bet $57.7bn on sports last year, more than twice the amount from 2020. That generated $4.33bn in revenue, an increase of nearly 180 percent over 2020.
Internet gambling revenue reached $3.71bn last year, and three states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan — each won more than $1bn online. West Virginia’s internet gambling market reached $60.9m in revenue in its first full year of operation, while Connecticut’s two internet casinos reported combined revenue of $47.6m after launching in October.
Celebrating Remarkable Changemakers Taking Exceptional Actions to End Extreme Poverty NOW, While Fostering Social Change Across the Globe
Winners to be honored at Prestigious Awards Dinner in Gotham Hall on May 22and Attend the Global Citizen NOW 2-Day Summit, in New York Cityon May 22 & 23 2022
NEW YORK , May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ –Today, international advocacy organization, Global Citizen, announced the winners of the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award 2022 and Cisco Youth LeadershipAward. These remarkable changemakers are recognized for their efforts in shaping the world and the sustained impact they have created towards their pivotal work of fighting for social justice.
The coveted Global Citizen Prize 2022 shines a light on international who keep the world’s poor at the forefront of their campaigning and celebrates these individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to achieving the United Nations’ Global Goals. The prize seeks to identify unsung heroes in our local communities who have been championing and uplifting the most vulnerable.
This year’s Global Citizen Prize 2022 will be recognized across three categories: to Defend the Planet, Defeat Poverty, and Demand Equitywith a focus on climate change, empowering adolescent girlsand breaking down systemic poverty barriers. With 2-3 changemaker awardees per category, the winners will receive a year-long program of support from Global Citizen, together with a donation to their organization. Proud partners of the Global Citizen Prize 2022 include Cisco, Citi and P&G.
The Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award 2022 honors people who go above and beyond to make the world a better place; people who inspire you to stand up and take action and recognises recipients making extraordinary efforts championing the vulnerable in our communities. This year’s awardees include: Anuscheh Amir-Khalili, Activist & Social Entrepreneur, Flamingo eV (Germany); Barbie IzquierdoFood Security Activist & Consultant (USA); Brianna FrueanClimate Activist, Pacific Climate Warriors (Samoa), Khanyisile Motsa, Founder & Director, Berea-Hillbrow Home of Hope (South Africa); Mitzy Violeta Cortés Guzmán, Defender of the Earth, Futuros Indígenas Network (Mexico); Payzee Mahmod, Child Marriage Survivor & Campaigner, IKWRO – Women’s Rights Organization (United Kingdom); Yemi AdamolekunExecutive Director, Enough is Enough (EiE), (Nigeria).
TheGlobal Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established by Cisco and Global Citizen, to celebrate an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully towards the goal of ending extreme poverty in their community, through their leadership, dedication, and innovation. The prize winner will receive a substantial to their organization to enable its continued growth. were judged, by a panel of representatives from Global Citizen, Cisco, and esteemed candidates and leaders in the international development field, against five equal-weighted criteria, including impact, vision, catalyst, global citizenship, and technology innovation.
This year’s Cisco Youth Leadership Award winner is Nidhi Pant from India. Nidhi is a chemical engineer and co-founder of S4S Technologies, a farm-gate food processing platform that converts farm losses into value-added products through the intervention of sustainable solar-powered technology. The organization increases family incomes and empowers women to be climate champions and decision-makers by transforming women farmers into micro-entrepreneurs through access to app-enabled market linkage, solar technology, bancarization, and financing. S4S Technologies works with over 24,000 farmers and 800 female entrepreneurs to prevent 40,000 tons of produce from being wasted and saves 37,000 tons of CO2 annually.
“Addressing the world’s most pressing issues will require the innovative, passionate efforts of young entrepreneurs like Nidhi, leading the next generation of global leaders who will help usher in a more inclusive, sustainable future,” said Fran KatsoudasEVP and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer of Cisco. Cisco is proud to recognize and support Nidhi’s incredible work leveraging innovative technology solutions to reduce waste and empower women farmers and families across India.”
Liza HenshawPresident of Global Citizen said: “Global Citizen is honored to recognize these remarkable changemakers who have the vision, foresight and persistence to make meaningful strides towards building a better future through their pivotal work. Given the urgent need for innovative solutions to deal with the challenges of defending the planet , defeating poverty, and demanding equity, we need individuals like our awardees who are ready to take immediate action.”
The celebrated winners will be honored at a prestigious intimate private dinner event, taking place on Sunday, May 22in New York’s iconic Gotham Hall. The event recognizes the work of those making extraordinary efforts to change the world and an exclusive stream of the Global Citizen Prize event will air on YouTube and Twitter on June 2, 2022at 12:00pm ET.
The awardees will also be in attendance at the Global Citizen NOW, a 2-day summit, held in New York Cityfrom Sunday May 22, untilMonday May 23. Global Citizen Now will bring together 200 leaders across the private sector, advocacy, entertainment, government and philanthropy. Focused on impact, action and innovation, Global Citizen NOW’s dynamic program will feature fireside conversations and panel discussions married with visual arts and first-person story-telling from those at the forefront of Ending Extreme Poverty NOW.
Global Citizen Now is supported by Cisco, Citi, Harith General Partners, P&G and Verizon.
For more information about the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award 2022, Cisco Youth Leadership Award, and Global Citizen Now visit www.globalcitizen.org and follow @GlblCtzn Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #GlobalCitizen.
ABOUT GLOBAL CITIZEN: Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty NOW. We post, tweet, message, vote, sign, and call to inspire those who can make things happen — government leaders, businesses, philanthropists, artists, and citizens — together improving lives. By downloading our app, Global Citizens learn about the systemic causes of extreme poverty, take action on those issues, and earn rewards. For more information, visit www.globalcitizen.org and follow @GlblCtzn.
View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-citizen-announces-the-2022-winners-of-global-citizen-prize-and-cisco-youth-leadership-award-301544597. html
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package Tuesday as lawmakers beefed up President Joe Biden’s initial request, signaling a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody three-month-old invasion.
The measure sailed to passage by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing $7 billion more than Biden’s request from April and dividing the increase evenly between defense and humanitarian programs. The bill would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, replenish weapons the Pentagon has shipped overseas and provide $5 billion to address global food shortages caused by the war’s crippling of Ukraine’s normally robust production of many crops.
The measure was backed by every Democrat and by nearly 3 out of 4 Republicans. House debate reflected a perspective, shared broadly by both parties, that the US has even more at stake than standing by Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian people, they need us, they are in desperate need of our support,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., chair of the House Appropriations Committee. This bill does that by protecting democracy, limiting Russian aggression and strengthening our own national security.”
“As China, Iran and North Korea watch our response, we must show the world that America stands firm with its allies and will do what is necessary to protect our interests abroad,” said Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, top Republican on that committee.
The new legislation would bring American support for the effort to nearly $54 billion, including the $13.6 billion in support Congress enacted in March. That’s about $6 billion more than the US spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to a January report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which studies issues for lawmakers. It’s also around 1% of the entire federal budget.
The measure was released as Washington has become assertive about its goals and its willingness to help Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said recently the US wants a “weakened” Russia that can’t quickly restore its ability to attack other countries.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with Rep. James McGovern, left to right, Rep. Greg Meeks, Rep. Barbara Lee and other members of the Congressional delegation that recently visited Ukraine, speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House following a meeting with President Biden. (AP)
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa have intensified in what seems an attempt to hamper deliveries of Western arms. Those weapons have helped Ukraine hold its own surprisingly well against its more lethal foe, but the grinding war is taking its toll.
Senate approval of Ukrainian aid seems certain, and members of both parties have echoed the need for quick action. “As Putin desperately accelerates his campaign of horror and brutality in Ukraine, time is of the essence,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
But it was unclear when the Senate would act, and changes there were possible, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., insisting that the measure be narrowly focused on the war.
“I think we’re on a path to getting that done,” McConnell told reporters. “It needs to be clean of extraneous matters, directly related to helping the Ukrainians win the war.”
Some Republicans used the election-season debate to accuse Biden of being unclear about his goals.
“Honestly, do we not deserve a plan?” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas. He said he agrees that Western countries must help Ukraine stand up to Russia but added, “Does the administration not need to come to us with where we are going with this?”
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, attended Tuesday’s separate Democratic and Republican Senate lunches and expressed gratitude for the support they’ve received. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Markarova told them her country has depleted its stockpiles of Soviet-era weapons and said continued NATO support is vital.
Coons said the Ukrainian’s message was: “Thank you, do more. We have a hard fight ahead. With your support, we can win.”
The new measure includes $6 billion to arm and train Ukrainian forces, $8.7 billion to restore American stores of weapons shipped and $3.9 billion for US forces to the area.
There’s also $8.8 billion in economic support for Ukraine, $4 billion to help Ukraine and allies finance arms and equipment purchases and $900 million for housing, education and other help for Ukrainian refugees in the US
To enhance the measure’s chances in Congress, the House bill dropped Biden’s proposal to ease the pathway to legal permanent residency for qualifying Afghans who fled to the US after last summer’s American withdrawal from that country. Some Republicans have expressed concerns about the adequacy of security screenings for applicants.
In their biggest concession, Biden and Democrats abandoned plans Monday to include additional billions of dollars to build up US supplies of medicines, vaccines and tests for COVID-19. Republican support for more pandemic spending is waning and including that money would have slowed the Ukraine measure in the 50-50 Senate, where at least 10 GOP votes will be needed for passage.
Democrats hope to produce a separate COVID-19 package soon, though its fate is unclear.
Biden met in the White House Situation Room Tuesday with Pelosi and six other House Democrats who recently traveled to Ukraine and Poland. Afterward, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a member of that delegation and a former Army Ranger, said the Ukrainians need advanced drones and longer-range weapons like artillery, rockets and anti-ship missiles that will help them push back the Russians.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said Wednesday it detained two Europeans as a European Union visits the country over its stalled nuclear negotiations with world powers.
The announcement by the ministry, during the visit of EU envoy Enrique Mora, comes as Tehran already is threatening to execute an Iranian-Swedish researcher imprisoned since 2016, and as another Iranian national faces a life sentence in Sweden.
Iran long has faced allegations that it uses its arrests as a bargaining chip with the West. Tehran denies that, though negotiations around its landmark 2015 nuclear deal saw Americans freed in a swap.
The ministry said in a statement that the two Europeans planned to turn routine demands by various social and professional groups into “chaos, social disorder and instability.”
It did not identify the term of those held. Sweden said Friday that one of its citizens traveling as a tourist has been detained in Iran, but it wasn’t clear if his case was connected to the Intelligence Ministry’s announcement.
The alleged statement the two agents are “professional expert” that were hired by a European country’s intelligence apparatus. It said the ministry was pursuing them from “the moment of arrival” and that all their relations with the “illegal Council of Teachers League” were documented.
Iran has been facing regular protests by teachers over salary disputes.
Mora’s visit comes as the nuclear deal talks in Vienna have stalled. The deal, which saw Tehran limit its enrichment for the lifting of economic sanctions, appeared deadlocked over an Iranian demand for America to delist the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Despite repeated Iranian claims that a separate deal would see billions of dollars in assets unfrozen and prisoners exchanged with America, the State Department has repeatedly said that no deal is imminent on either a prisoner swap or the nuclear deal.
The deal collapsed after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018. Iran since has accelerated its enrichment of uranium — including a small amount to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian offered his support for ongoing negotiations.
“Talks for lifting sanctions in reaching good, strong and stable deal in being pursued in its right direction while observing Iran’s red lines,” he wrote on Twitter. of the Guard.
Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency, charged with monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, has critical of Iran’s failure to cooperate with the organization and its refusal to explain the traces of radioactive material several undeclared nuclear sites in the country. Iran has refused to release IAEA surveillance tapes of its nuclear as well, worrying nuclear non-proliferation experts experts.
Meanwhile, Iran is threatening to execute Swedish-Iranian physician Ahmad Reza Jalali by May 21 at the latest. Jalali is a Swedish-Iranian physician who specializes in disaster relief and has taught at European universities. Rights groups have condemned his detention.
The imminent execution announcement came after Iran summoned its Swedish envoy over a landmark trial in Sweden of an Iranian national charged over mass executions committed during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Swedish prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for Hamid Nouri, who has been held in custody in Sweden since his arrest in Stockholm in November 2019. The Stockholm District Court has said that a verdict in that case was expected July 14.
Separately Wednesday, the Guard targeted what it called a “terrorists’ base” near Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported, without giving details. The Guard in the past has targeted Kurdish opposition groups in north of Iraq using missiles. Iraqi and Kurdish officials did not immediately acknowledge the strikes.
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Lviv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
Judge finds ‘there was nothing concrete’ about Saudi financing to take the electric carmaker private.
A US court has ruled that Elon Musk’s 2018 tweets saying funding had been secured to take Tesla private were inaccurate and reckless, delivering a major victory to investors who alleged the billionaire artificially inflated stock prices.
US District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found that “there was nothing concrete” about financing from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund at that time.
Musk in 2018 met with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and discussed taking Tesla private, but evidence shows that “there was nothing concrete about funding coming from the PIF,” the judge wrote.
“Rather, discussions between Tesla and the PIF were clearly at the preliminary stage.
“No reasonable jury could find that Mr. Musk did not act recklessly given his clear knowledge of the discussions,” he said.
Chen said details such as the total amount of funding needed to take Tesla private or the price to be paid for Tesla stock were not discussed.
The summary judgment, made on April 1, was sealed for more than a month before it was made publicly available on Tuesday.
‘Hugely significant’
“It is hugely significant,” shareholder lawyer Nicholas Porritt, a partner at Levi & Korsinsky LLP, told Reuters.
He said it is rare that class action plaintiffs get summary judgment on falsity and scienter – referring to statements that are knowingly or recklessly false – before going to a jury trial.
The remaining issue is what damages the intentionally false statement has caused to shareholders, he said.
The judge refused to grant shareholders summary judgment on the question of whether or not the alleged false statements actually impacted Tesla’s share prices.
Musk’s lawyer, who has filed motions to undo the court decision, was not immediately available for comment. Musk said recently that funding was actually secured to take Tesla private in 2018.
The latest ruling was in line with a complaint from the US securities regulator which sued Musk for securities fraud over the tweets in 2018. Musk settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, stepped down as Tesla chairman, paid fines and agreed to have a lawyer approve some of his tweets before posting them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing for “a prolonged conflict” in Ukraine will likely become “more unpredictable and escalatory” in coming months, largely because “Putin faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia’s current conventional military capabilities,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a Senate committee on Tuesday.
Putin aims “to achieve goals beyond the Donbas,” up to carving a land bridge along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast to the Russian-aligned breakaway Transnistria region of Moldova, Haines said. Putin is highly unlikely to achieve that last goal, which would damage Ukraine’s economy massively, without a full mobilization inside Russia, a step he hasn’t taken.
The 75-day conflict has turned into a war of attrition, and “as both Russia and Ukraine believe they can continue to make progress militarily, we do not see a viable negotiating path forward, at least in the short term,” Haines said. For his part, Putin “is probably counting on the US and EU resolve to weaken as food shortages, inflation, and energy shortages get worse.”
The House, hours after her testimony, voted nearly 368-57 to approve nearly $40 billion in military and humanitarian aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia plus other measures to ease the fallout. The Senate will likely pass the bill this week.
Haines said that as the war grinds on, Putin may turn to “more drastic means” but he’s unlikely to use nuclear weapons unless he sees an “existential threat” to Russia or his rule. lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, agreed about the low risk of nuclear warfare and told the Senate that eight to 10 Russian generals have been killed while fighting in Ukraine, an extraordinary high number of senior officers in a very short amount of time.
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The US House of Representatives has approved a fresh $40bn aid package for Ukraine, after President Joe Biden called for more funds to help Kyiv thwart Russia’s three-month-old invasion.
Legislators passed the Ukraine bill by 368 to 57 votes on Tuesday, providing $7bn more than Biden’s request in April.
It would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, replenish weapons the Pentagon has shipped overseas, and provide aid to address global food shortages caused by the war’s crippling of Ukraine’s normally robust production of wheat and other agricultural crops.
The measure was backed by every Democrat and by nearly three out of four Republicans. House debate reflected a perspective, shared broadly by both parties, that there is more at stake than simply standing by Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian people, they need us, they are in desperate need of our support,” said Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “Vladimir Putin and his crones must be held responsible. This bill does that by protecting democracy, limiting Russian aggression and strengthening our own national security.”
Republican Representative Kay Granger, the top Republican on that committee, said the passage of the bill sent an important message to the US’s rivals.
“As China, Iran and North Korea watch our response, we must show the world that America stands firm with its allies and will do what is necessary to protect our interests abroad,” she said.
The bill now heads to the Senate, which is expected to act quickly. Biden had called on Congress to move swiftly so he could sign the bill into law before existing defense aid for Ukraine runs out later in May.
‘Speed it up’
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, appealed for assistance to both Democratic and Republican senators at their weekly party lunches on Tuesday.
“It was a very heartfelt and easy to understand message: Their people are dying, they’re running out of supplies and ammunition. They need our help quickly. Thank you for all our help. Please. Speed it up,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said after Markarova spoke.
Republican Senator Rob Portman, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and leader of the Senate’s Ukraine caucus, said he expected enough Republican backing for the bill to get it through the Senate.
“I think it will pass. There will be significant Republican support,” he said.
The package includes $6bn for security assistance, including training, equipment, weapons and support; $8.7bn to replenish stocks of US equipment sent to Ukraine, and $3.9bn for European Command operations.
In addition, the legislation authorizes a further $11bn in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the president to authorize the transfer of articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency. Biden had asked for $5bn.
It also authorises $4bn in foreign military financing to provide support for Ukraine and other countries affected by the crisis.
The US has rushed more than $3.5bn worth of armaments to Ukraine since Russia invaded, including howitzers, anti-aircraft Stinger systems, anti-tank Javelin missiles, ammunition and recently-disclosed “Ghost” drones.
The new aid package also includes humanitarian assistance – $5bn to address food in global security due to the conflict and nearly $9bn for an economic support fund for Ukraine.
It provides hundreds of millions of dollars to help refugees and fund efforts to seize the assets of oligarchs linked to Putin, whose government has called the invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation”.
The war has killed thousands of civilians, forced millions of Ukrainians from their homes and reduced cities to rubble. Moscow has little to show for it beyond a strip of territory in the south and marginal gains in the east.
![House emphatically approves $40B Ukraine aid package [Video]](https://www.homeseek.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c9de00526211971244d199b3ace2ab35-768x512.jpeg "House emphatically approves $40B Ukraine aid package [Video]")
