US Senate approves Ukraine aid but battle looms in House; tighten sanctions on Russia and add more, says Nato ex-secretary general
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has welcomed the US Senate vote that approved $61bn in aid for Ukraine and sent it to the House of Representatives for a vote. “American assistance brings just peace in Ukraine closer and restores global stability, resulting in increased security and prosperity for all Americans and all the free world,” Zelenskiy said.
The Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said he was confident the bill – also providing assistance to Israel and other allies – would pass the House with support from both Republicans and Democrats if there were a vote, and called on House leaders to do the right thing.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, asked if he planned to put the bill to a vote, said “I certainly don’t” and suggested members were busy with other matters. But Republicans and Democrats in favour of supporting Ukraine could force a vote using a process called a “discharge petition” if enough of them banded together. The US president, Joe Biden, has urged members of the House to ignore the hectoring of Donald Trump and approve the bill.
Sanctions against Russia are having an effect but need to be broadened and more strictly enforced, according to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Nato secretary general. Rasmussen argued that Ukraine’s allies must tighten sanctions enforcement to stop western components getting into Russian armaments, increase sanctions against Russia’s war-mobilised heavy industry, and use frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine.
Rasmussen writes in the Financial Times: “Victory will depend largely on whether Ukraine and its allies can outproduce Russia. We must realign our sanctions policy with this objective. We should recognise that although the measures will not force Moscow to end the war overnight, they are another tool to disrupt and degrade the country’s means of production. Every Russian tank we prevent from being built is one less that Ukrainian forces need to destroy.”
Britain’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, will urge allies to increase defence production to help Ukraine, his office said ahead of a diplomatic tour to Bulgaria, Poland and Germany.
Russia’s parliamentary speaker has said it will vote on 21 February on suspending its participation in the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE). The OSCE has 57 members including Russia and Ukraine.
Russia attacked the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro with missiles and drones on Tuesday, damaging a power plant and cutting off water supplies to some residents, Ukrainian officials and media said.
Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the west within the next decade and could be deterred by a counter buildup of armed forces, Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has said.
Moscow has put the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, and other Baltic states officials on a wanted list, as Estonia warns of an imminent Russian military buildup along its border. The Russian foreign ministry said they were accused of “destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers”. Kallas said she would not be silenced and would continue her strong support for Ukraine and for “increasing Europe’s defence”.
Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks during its invasion of Ukraine – the equivalent of its entire prewar active inventory – but has enough lower-quality armoured vehicles in storage for years of replacements, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Ukraine had also suffered heavy losses but western military replenishments had allowed it to maintain inventories while upgrading quality, ISS analysts wrote.
