Live blog: US House approves long-awaited $61B aid package for Ukraine

Saturday, April 20, 2024

1803 GMT — The US House of Representatives has approved a long-awaited $61 billion aid package to help Ukraine's war effort against Russia.

The bill is the product of months of acrimonious negotiations, pressure from US allies and repeated pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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1826 GMT — US aid for Ukraine 'will kill even more Ukrainians': Kremlin

The US House of Represenatives' approval of a long-delayed $61-billion aid package for Ukraine will kill even more Ukrainians, the Kremlin has said.

"The decision to provide aid to Ukraine was expected and predictable," said Russia's presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, state news agency TASS reported.

"It will further enrich the United States of America and ruin Ukraine even more, by killing even more Ukrainians because of the Kiev regime," he added.

1820 GMT — US House approval of Ukraine aid sends 'clear message' to Russia: EU chief

EU chief Charles Michel has welcomed the US House of Representatives backing of an aid package to Ukraine for its war effort against Russia.

"This sends a clear message to the Kremlin: Those who believe in freedom and UN charter will continue to support Ukraine and its people," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

1807 GMT — NATO chief welcomes US House approval of Ukraine aid

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has hailed the US House of Representatives approval of a long-awaited $61-billion aid package for Ukraine's war effort.

"I welcome that the US House of Representatives has approved a major new package of aid to Ukraine. Ukraine is using the weapons provided by NATO Allies to destroy Russian combat capabilities. This makes us all safer, in Europe and North America," Stoltenberg said on X.

1804 GMT — Zelenskyy welcomes US House approval of Ukraine aid package

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed a vote by the US House of Representatives approving a long-delayed aid package, saying it would "save thousands and thousands of lives".

In a statement on social media, he added: "We hope that (the) bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden's desk. Thank you, America!"

1800 GMT — Blinken to press China over its support for Russian defence base

The US is prepared to act against Chinese companies supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, a senior US official told reporters, highlighting it as an issue Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise on his trip to China next week.

US officials have warned in increasingly stark terms about what they say is China's assistance in retooling and resupplying Russia's defence industrial base after early setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine, saying that continued support is a top risk to stable relations between Washington and Beijing.

Briefing reporters ahead of Blinken's planned visit to Shanghai and Beijing from April 24-26, the senior State Department official said US-China relations were "in a different place" than a year ago, when ties had sunk to a historic low point after the US downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon.

1003 GMT — Ukraine hit Russian fuel depot overnight: defence source

Ukraine has launched drones at eight Russian regions overnight, hitting three electrical substations and a fuel depot, a source in Ukraine's defence sector said.

Kiev has ramped up strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities in recent months, part of what it calls "fair" retaliation on infrastructure used to fuel Russia's war.

"At least three electrical substations and a fuel storage base were hit and caught fire. The target was the energy infrastructure that feeds Russia's military-industrial complex," the source said.

The strike was a "joint operation" of Ukraine's SBU security service, military intelligence and armed forces, the source added.

0909 GMT — 50 Ukrainian drones shot down as attacks spark fires at Russian power stations: Moscow

Fifty drones were shot down by air defences over eight Russian regions in Ukraine's overnight attack across Russia, including 26 over the country’s western Belgorod region close to the Ukrainian border.

Two people — a woman with a broken leg and the man caring for her — died during the barrage after explosions sparked a blaze that set their home alight, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media.

Drones were also reportedly destroyed over the Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan, and Kaluga regions across Russia’s west and south, as well as in the Moscow region.

0829 GMT — Ukraine conducted large-scale drone attack on Russia overnight

Ukraine conducted a large-scale drone attack on Russia overnight, targeting energy facilities supporting Russian military-industrial production, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters.

At least three power substations and a fuel depot were hit in a joint operation by Ukraine's SBU security service, GUR military intelligence, and special forces, the source said.

The strike was a "joint operation" of Ukraine's SBU security service, military intelligence and armed forces, the source added.

0822 GMT — Russian defence ministry to set up drone development centre

Russia's defence ministry will set up a science and production centre for drones and "robotic complexes", Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, according to the ministry.

Shoigu was inspecting a testing range for firearms and drones in the Moscow military district, the defence ministry said.

The tiny, inexpensive FPV (first-person view) drone has proved to be one of the most potent weapons in this war, where conventional warplanes are relatively rare because of a dense concentration of anti-aircraft systems near front lines.

At the testing range, Shoigu was shown firearms for tackling such drones, as well as a combat quadcopter designed to set up mines.

2356 GMT — Russia says Ukrainian drone strike killed two in Belgorod

A Ukrainian drone strike overnight has killed two people in Russia's Belgorod region, its governor said.

A residential building and a barn in the village of Poroz were "completely burned down" in the attack, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Another residential building was severely damaged. "As a result of the release of two explosive devices, a private residential building caught fire. Tragically, two civilians died — a woman who was recovering from a fractured femur and a man who was caring for her," Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

"The son of the deceased managed to run out of the burning house at the last moment." He said rescue workers were on the scene, and a walkthrough of the area would be conducted during daylight hours.

2315 GMT — Russian war correspondent for Izvestia killed in Ukraine

Semyon Eremin, a war correspondent for the Russian daily Izvestia, has been killed in a drone attack in southeastern Ukraine, the daily said.

Izvestia said Eremin, 42, died of wounds suffered when a drone made a second pass over the area where he was reporting in Zaporizhzhia region.

It said Eremin had sent reports from many of the hottest battles in Ukraine's eastern regions during the 25-month-old war, including Mariupol, besieged by Russian troops for nearly three months in 2022.

He had also reported from Maryinka and Vuhledar, towns at the centre of many months of heavy fighting.

For our live updates from Friday, April 19, click here.