WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden on April 24 signed legislation authorising US$61 billion (S$83 billion) in military aid for Ukraine, with the Pentagon announcing just moments later that desperately needed air defence and artillery munitions were being sent to Kyiv.

The legislation – which also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan and a potential ban on TikTok – comes after months of delay that saw Ukrainian forces run short of ammunition and suffer battlefield setbacks.

“I just signed into law the national security package that was passed by the House of Representatives this weekend, and by the Senate yesterday,” Mr Biden told reporters, saying he is “making sure the shipments start right away, in the next few hours”.

“It’s going to make America safer, it’s going to make the world safer, and it continues American leadership in the world and everyone knows it,” he said of the legislation.

“It gives vital support to America’s partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and to the lives and freedoms of their citizens.”

Minutes after Mr Biden spoke, the Pentagon announced a US$1 billion package for Kyiv using the new funding, including air defence munitions, artillery rounds, ammunition for Himars precision rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons and armoured vehicles.

‘Threats to freedom’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gave thanks on social media on April 24.

“I am grateful to President Biden, Congress, and all Americans who recognise that we must cut the ground under Putin’s feet rather than obeying him, as this is the only way to truly reduce threats to freedom,” he wrote.

Washington has announced new aid for Ukraine on just one other occasion in 2024, a US$300 million package in March that was made possible only by using money that the Pentagon had saved on other purchases.

The US State Department confirmed on April 24 that the United States had secretly sent long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles to Ukraine as part of the March assistance package, fulfilling a longstanding request from Kyiv.

“We did not announce this at the onset in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters, adding that the “missiles arrived in Ukraine this month”.

Some ATACMS missiles can hit targets up to 300km away, and a US Defence Department spokesperson confirmed that was the long-range variant supplied to Ukraine.

The White House said in 2023 that the US sent a shorter-range variant of ATACMS that can travel 165km.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US plans to send more of the long-range missiles to Ukraine, but warned that “there is no silver bullet”.

The legislation Mr Biden signed on April 24 – valued at a total of US$95 billion – passed after months of acrimonious debate among lawmakers over how or even whether to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion, which Moscow launched in February 2022.

A similar Bill passed the Senate in February. But it had stalled in the House of Representatives while Republican Speaker Mike Johnson – heeding calls from former president Donald Trump and his hardline allies – demanded concessions from Mr Biden on immigration policies, before a sudden reversal.

Humanitarian aid, TikTok ban

The US has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing tens of billions of dollars in security assistance since the start of Russia’s invasion.

But a squabbling Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv for nearly a year and a half.

Ukraine’s military is facing a severe shortage of arms and recruits as Moscow exerts constant pressure from the east, with front-line circumstances expected to worsen in the coming weeks.

In contrast to some Republicans, Mr Biden and the Democrats frame Ukraine aid as an investment in US security against future Russian aggression targeting other countries.

The Bill signed by Mr Biden also provides for much-needed humanitarian assistance to Sudan, Haiti and Gaza, with the President calling on Israel to allow aid to quickly reach Palestinians in the war-racked coastal enclave.

“We’re going to immediately secure that aid and surge it... including food, medical supplies, clean water,” Mr Biden said. “Israel must make sure all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay.”

Another provision in the legislation gives popular social media app TikTok nine months to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.

TikTok plans to fight the measure in court, with chief executive Chew Shou Zi saying in a video message on the platform that “this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice”. AFP