House Approves Ukraine Lend-Lease Bill Aimed at Easing Military-Gear Transfers; ‘More than half’ of howitzers provided by US have arrived in UKR; UKR soldier says Elon Musk’s Starlink ‘changed the war’ with Russia: report; ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ killed in battle, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Apr 29, 2022

House Approves Ukraine Lend-Lease Bill Aimed at Easing Military-Gear Transfers:

The House approved legislation to create a lend-lease agreement to send military equipment to Ukraine, an arrangement similar to how the U.S. supplied Britain during World War II.

The bill, which passed the House in a 417-10 vote Thursday, will waive statutory requirements on the president’s ability to transfer military equipment to Kyiv, with the aim of streamlining such shipments. The bill would allow the Biden administration authority to direct aid such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks and other supplies to Ukraine.

“The lend-lease is an uncommon tool for uncommon times,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), a co-chair of the Ukraine caucus.

The legislation passed unanimously in the Senate earlier this month, so it will now head to President Biden for a signature. —>READ MORE HERE

‘More than half’ of howitzers provided by US have arrived in Ukraine:

“More than half” of the howitzers the United States has designated to go to Ukraine have arrived as of Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

The U.S.’s military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded Feb. 24 includes 90 155 mm howitzers, large artillery guns that are operated by a team of about 10 people; 72 tactical vehicles to tow the howitzers; and 183,000 155 mm artillery rounds.

“Without giving whole numbers, more than half of those howitzers are in Ukraine,” Kirby said during Wednesday’s briefing. He also said the first group of Ukrainian officers to be trained on the howitzers, roughly 50 people, had completed it.

The U.S. is training those Ukrainian military members with hopes that they will be able to go back home and pass the knowledge along to their countrymen and women. Another group of Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on how to use the howitzer, though Kirby was unsure of whether they had already begun. The training is taking place in an undisclosed European country.

The Biden administration announced an $800 million in military aid April 21, and it included 72 of the 90 howitzers, all of the tactical vehicles, and 144,000 artillery rounds. They designated the first 18 howitzers and the remaining 40,000 artillery rounds April 13. —>READ MORE HERE

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