Billions in Ukraine aid approved by House

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers passed a massive aid package on Saturday as Kyiv and Moscow denounced each other over the latest exchange of deadly airstrikes.

The $61 billion package for supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia has now moved to the US Senate.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that he was "grateful" to both parties in the House.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel also welcomed the news.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the vote had been expected.

He said the decision to provide military aid to Ukraine would make the United States richer and further ruin Ukraine, Peskov said on Saturday.

Predictable decision

"The decision to provide assistance to Ukraine was expected and was predictable. This will further enrich the United States of America and further ruin Ukraine, causing more Ukrainians to die," Peskov was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying.

The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved a series of foreign aid bills allocating a combined $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel and allies in the "Indo-Pacific". The bills included measures for confiscating frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.

"If we are really talking about confiscating our assets, this will cause irreparable damage to the image of the United States of America. This will force many investors in this country to protect their funds because the inviolability of private property will be violated, especially state property," Peskov said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also took to social media to speak against the aid.

Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, wrote on Telegram: "The new aid package will not save, but, on the contrary, will kill thousands and thousands more people, prolong the conflict, and bring even more grief and devastation."

On the battlefield, Kyiv and Moscow earlier on Saturday accused each other of deadly strikes on civilians overnight.

Russian strikes killed three people in central and northeast Ukraine, according to local officials.

In Russia's western Belgorod region, cross-border Ukrainian attacks killed three people, said the local governor.

Ukrainian drones killed two people in Russia's Belgorod border region, its governor said early on Saturday, while shelling later in the day killed a pregnant woman.

Agencies - Xinhua