Graham: UKR Aid ‘Would Not Have Passed Without Donald Trump’; OK, Biden, You Have Your Aid Bill — Now Stop Being Intimidated by RU and Give UKR the Weapons It Needs; No RU Presence in Chasiv Yar; UKR Strikes RU Ship; 65 C-Clashes F.Line; UKR Repels 50 Attacks-6 Sectors, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Graham: Ukraine Aid ‘Would Not Have Passed Without Donald Trump’:

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on this week’s broadcast on “Fox News Sunday” that Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) aid package that included for Ukraine would not have passed the House without help from former President Donald Trump.

Graham said, “The Ukrainian military, with our help, has killed about 50% of the combat power of the Russians. This is the year of more. They’re going to have more weapons, but we also want them to have new weapons, ATACMS to knock the bride down between Crimea and Russia. They are going to have F-16s. So, this idea give up on Ukraine makes the world safer, if you pull the plug on Ukraine cause you don’t have enough capability. There goes Taiwan.”

He continued, “Ukrainians are fighting like tigers This aid package has a loan component it. This would not have passed without Donald Trump. I want to thank the House speaker and Hakeem Jeffries woking together in a bipartisan fashion to give weapons to Ukraine to fight a fight that matters to us. President Trump has created a loan component to this package that gives us leverage down the road.” —>READ MORE HERE

NY POST: OK, Biden, you have your aid bill — now stop being intimidated by Russia and give Ukraine the weapons it needs:

The House vote on the four bills that provide assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan on Saturday provided yet another illustration to the old adage, attributed to Winston Churchill, that one can always count on the Americans to do the right thing – after they have tried everything else.

While the United States needed to act with more urgency to deter all its adversaries around the world, it was arguably in Ukraine that protracted congressional inaction has had the most severe consequences.

As Ukraine’s anti-air capabilities are being depleted, Russians are killing scores of civilians in their attacks on cities and non-military infrastructure.

Slowly but surely, Russian forces are making advances on the battlefield, which raises the risk of a partial collapse of Ukrainian defenses.

The Ukraine bill, which provides almost $61 billion in funding to help Ukraine’s military and public finances, alongside a substantial amount to modernize and replenish US stockpiles, is the largest of the supplemental bills hitherto authorized by Congress.

Indeed, its original rationale was to cover Ukraine’s needs throughout 2024.

Paradoxically, the long delay had one unintended benefit in spurring new European initiatives, such as the Czech plan to source artillery shells from hidden sources around the world or French President Emmanuel Macron’s new commitments to Ukraine’s security.

With US assistance back in the game, it is not yet too late to turn the tide.

That said, the aid is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for Ukraine’s victory. What is needed as well is a change of strategy on the part of the Biden administration. For one, it is clear that “for as long as it takes” is no longer a viable or credible approach towards underwriting Ukrainian efforts.

The most recent supplemental bill was passed thanks to almost superhuman effort on the part of Speaker Mike Johnson and required a degree of bipartisanship that remains an exception, not a rule, in Washington.

Moreover, Ukraine’s losses on the battlefield as DC dithered should have shown to the White House that its current levels of ambition and strategic clarity do not rise to the occasion.

It has been the self-deterrence of the administration and fears of Russian escalation that have both restricted Ukrainians’ freedom of action and eroded the political case for helping Ukraine at home. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++No Russian presence in Chasiv Yar – Ukrainian Armed Forces+++++

+++++Ukrainian Navy confirms strike on Russian ship in Sevastopol +++++

+++++65 combat engagements took place in frontline over past day+++++

+++++Ukrainian Defense Forces foil 2 Kh-59 guided missiles, repel 50 Russian attacks in six sectors+++++

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