The US House of Representatives has approved sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraine.
Democrats and Republicans joined together after months of deadlock over renewed American support to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion.
Representatives could be seen waving small Ukrainian flags as it became clear the package was going to pass.
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Representatives wave Ukrainian flags
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was “grateful” for the decision, which he said “keeps history on the right track”.
“Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it,” he said.
“The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.”
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‘Grateful’ Zelenskyy reacts to US aid
Representatives also approved bills to send foreign aid to Israel and proe humanitarian relief to Palestinians in Gaza, give security assistance to Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific, and a measure containing several foreign policy proposals including a threat to ban Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.
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The US House of Representatives has approved sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraine.
The package will now go to the US Senate, where it is likely to be passed on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has then promised to sign it immediately.
“I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs,” Mr Biden said.
What aid package means for Ukraine after profound impact of delay
The impact of this American blockage has been profound.
I have had multiple conversations with diplomats and military officials in Washington DC and all have said the same thing: the situation for Ukraine is depressing, Russia has the upper hand and prospects for Kyiv, without more weapons, are bleak.
The Ukrainians have been running low on all weapons types, even small arms – bullets for their soldiers’ rifles.
Before the House of Representatives approved the $60.8bn aid package on Saturday, it had been more than 480 days since Congress last passed a bill allowing for American weapons to be sent to Ukraine.
There was a White House budgetary fudge earlier this year which freed up some more cash from an existing bill and allowed for some more weapons to be sent. But it wasn’t enough.
Read more of Mark Stone’s analysis here.
Bill will ‘further ruin’ Ukraine, Russia warns
Moscow said the passage of the bill would “further ruin” Ukraine and result in more deaths.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS news agency a provision allowing Washington to confiscate seized Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction would tarnish the image of the US.
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Major Russian strike on Ukraine kills eight
‘Ukraine can and will win’
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the funding was “a vital step forward”.
“If Putin ever doubted the West’s resolve to back Ukraine, this shows our collective will is undimmed,” he tweeted.
“With support, Ukraine can and will win.”
But Donald Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative who has opposed helping Ukraine in its war against Russia, said “people have been too obsessed with voting for foreign wars and the war industry”.
Speaking after the vote passed, she said: “This is the sellout of America today. When we had members of Congress in there waving the Ukrainian flag on the United States House of Representatives floor, while we’re doing nothing to secure our border, I think every American is going to be furious.”
Mr Biden first requested the funding in October, as Ukraine’s military supplies began to dwindle.
In February, Mr Zelenskyy urged Congress to pass the funding, saying if it did not “it will leave me wondering what world we are living in”.
