Today, We Received a Decision – the U.S. Assistance, Which Will Be Felt by Both the Warriors on the Frontline, and the Cities and Villages Suffering from Russian Terror

Today, We Received a Decision – the U.S. Assistance, Which Will Be Felt by Both the Warriors on the Frontline, and the Cities and Villages Suffering from Russian Terror – Address by the President 20 April 2024 - 21:30

From early morning today, various regions of our country have been experiencing air alerts and Russian strikes. From the east to the south... Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk regions, Kherson and the region, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. Missiles, drone strikes, artillery. There is a lot of destruction — houses, port infrastructure, and energy facilities. There are casualties and, unfortunately, fatalities.

My condolences to their families and loved ones. Throughout the day, our air defense system was in action, there were responses to Russian strikes, the rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and all the services performed their duties.

But this day is still a little different. Today, we received the long-awaited decision: the American support package we've been fighting for so hard. And it is a very significant package that will be felt by both our warriors on the frontline and our cities and villages suffering from Russian terror. The U.S. House of Representatives voted today.

I thank everyone who supported our package – this is a life-saving decision. I am grateful personally to Speaker Mike Johnson, to all American hearts who, like us in Ukraine, feel that Russian evil definitely should not prevail. I hope that the package will be considered in the U.S. Senate and submitted to President Biden’s desk quickly enough.

We appreciate every manifestation of support for our state and independence, for our people, and for our lives that Russia wants to bury in ruins. America has shown its leadership from the very first days of this war. And this kind of American leadership is crucial for the maintenance of an international order in the world based on rules and predictability of life for all nations. We will certainly use American support to strengthen both our nations and bring a just end to this war closer – a war that Putin must lose.

And I thank the entire Ukrainian team, everyone who works and does everything to bring this outcome closer. I thank all the representatives of our state, all our diplomats who are working to increase the support for Ukraine, all the representatives of the public sector, every volunteer, all the friends of Ukraine. I am grateful to my team. The world unites for Ukraine when Ukrainians unite for independence.

And today I would like to honor those of our people who have shown their best in the aftermath of the Russian strikes over the week – helping people, protecting lives. These are the employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, our medical workers, police officers. Everyone who works on the scene after the hits. Everyone who rescues people from under the rubble, stops fires, and saves the injured. Thank you all!

I would like to mention some of them in particular... Dnipro: Denys Mikheyev, Artem Serha, Dmytro Nikolayenko – these guys are from the State Emergency Service. Vitaliy Arkhypov – an emergency doctor in the Dnipro region, Yevhen Holitsyn – an emergency feldsher. I would also like to mention the police officers: Oleksiy Bondarenko and Vitaliy Andriyanov. Thank you! Karyna Kolisnychenko – a dog handler from the Pavlohrad search and rescue unit. Thank you for every life saved.

Odesa, SES: Yuriy Sukhorukov, Vitaliy Telehus and Artem Kopechynskyi. Thank you, guys!

Chernihiv: Artem Lysenko – a firefighter, Vadym Avramenko and Maksym Zhylko – also employees of the SES in the region, as well as police officers Andriy Vovk and Bohdan Tkachuk. Thank you! I am also grateful to Natalia Nosenok, a nurse who really cares about people and helps them.

I am grateful to everyone who cares about Ukrainians, about life in our country, about their city, their community, about our entire country! And I am especially thankful to each of our warriors. To all those who destroy the Russian occupier, who hold the frontline and thus preserve Ukraine on the world map. We are doing everything to ensure that our warriors have as many opportunities as possible so that this war ends as soon as possible on our terms, Ukrainian terms.

>>>>However, inappropriate insult comments of a few are documented and kept. It is noted, you keep your own list of memes and comments documented as well.

Now, lets move forward and have a great day! :)<<<<

The wagging of that fat finger never stops. With all the exercise you give it, it should be as thin as the lovely Melania.

Yes, mommy, I save posts that are of interest to me. You on the other hand, work in concert with other zeepers, accumulating posts (think Stasi) of pro-American Freepers, who, in your overly-sensitive mind, hurt your feelings and/or prevailed in a debate with you.

Everyone who's read your threads knows you're a narcissist and a control freak. You hate being corrected about anything, or your views being challenged, and you always have to have the last word.

What you plan to do with your files, only you know for certain. I think you're saving them and when you reach what you think is an appropriate amount, send them to a sympathetic mod and have us suspended or zotted.

bimboeruption: "You and your mommy are experts in Copying and Pasting."

As opposed to bimboeruption who never copies or pastes anything.

bimboeruption: "And such lengthy posts!
Does the Ukrainian Ministry of Propaganda pay you by the word?
Do they pay you extra for posting graphics?"

As opposed to bimboeruption whose posts are always short and pithy, and never include graphics.

As for who is, or is not, getting paid, I think you and your anti-Uker comrades should be required to double whatever you're contributing to Free Republic today, for the privilege of posting your endless lies & nonsense here.

bimboeruption: "BTW, are the files you and your mommy are compiling on pro-American FReepers growing since your globohomo hero Zelensky's latest grift?
You know, the Naughty And Nice List?"

As opposed to bimboeruption & Co. who never keep information about fellow FReepers, such as whether they like to "copy and paste".

I keep no files of any kind related to others on Free Republic, except what you can see in FR's file of previous "Posts by BroJoeK".

I'm just an old guy, no income outside retirement.
I have no idea who you people are or what you think you're doing, but you are obviously highly trained and skilled in the arts of propaganda, mocking and ridicule against FReepers who support Ukraine.

And you seem to be on a mission, dedicated to the destruction of Free Republic itself, if that's what it takes to prevent Ukrainians from fending off Vlad the Invader's assaults on and destruction of their country.

And why Free Republic allows you to keep on doing what your're doing here is beyond my ability to imagine.

tennmountainman: "I am not Pro Russia.
I am America First.
You are another moron who does not understand that being against American Tax dollars going to YouCrayne and Hamas does not make me Pro-Russia."

Well... then let's start here -- there's no conflating Ukraine with Hamas, that's insane.
Any US aid to Hamas is beyond despicable and should stop immediately.

What Ukraine aid absolutely does conflate with is US support for Israel, Taiwan and Indo-Pacific region allies, such as the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Thailand, plus friendly democratic countries there like New Zealand, Singapore, India, Indonesia and Pacific Islands such as Fiji, Samoa and the Marshalls, etc.

All of it Puts American First, by helping defend the world's democracies -- therefore America's peace and prosperity -- against aggressive authoritarian dictators like Russia's Vlad the Invader, the CCP's Xi-snake, Noko's Little Kim and Iran's Moolah Mullahs.

Regardless, you remain effectively as pro-Russian as anyone claiming to be "neutral" in the face of aggression by a greater power against a lesser one.

tennmountainman: "You and others are incapable of understanding that.
That’s your problem, not mine."

For certain, I can't understand what's going on inside your brain that makes you want to abandon US friends and allies to the world's most aggressive dictators.

How, suddenly did all the lessons from the 1930s get tossed down your memory hole and forgotten, so that we'll have to learn them yet again, the hard way?

1942: This is what happens when we ignore aggressive dictators.

Forward the Light Brigade: "Another victory for Hero Ukraine!
This new Billions of dollar gifts will win the day for Ukraine and the people of Europe!
Didn’t you know all it takes is money to win wars?"

It appears from these comments that you know nothing of what is in the new $95 billion aid package, of which ~$60 billion is for Ukraine, the rest for Israel ($26 billion), Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies ($8 billion).

Ukraine aid includes:

$23 billion to replenish US stockpiles with new, latest model production items.
$14 billion in orders to US manufacturers for shipment of hardware and ammunition to Ukraine.
$11 billion will pay for US military training and operations related to Ukraine.
$8 billion in non-military, humanitarian and government assistance.

This brings total US aid committed to Ukraine, since Russia's February 2022 invasion, to around $174 billion, which compares to circa $228 billion committed by Europe ($208 billion) and others like Japan, South Korea and Canada (~$20 billion).
The E.U.'s total commitment to Ukraine, then, is about 20% higher than the US total, but it's about double ours in terms of the EU's nominal GDP.

The complaint, of course, is that while the Euros have promised a lot, they've delivered much less, and this is an issue Pres. Trump will begin to address directly again in January 2025.

Forward the Light Brigade: "Another grant of cash and Russia is licked, they will pull back and let Ukraine join NATO and EU!
Then all will be well and the uber-rich families who run Ukraine can become even Richer!"

Yeah, well... talk like that is pure Russian propaganda, straight from the information sewer pipes of the Kremlin's Ministry for Agitation and Propaganda, but, let's take it seriously for purposes of discussion.

So, first: roughly 20% of the $104 billion in US aid since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has gone to help pay salaries of Ukrainian workers such as teachers, health workers and first responders.
Another circa 30% has paid for US military operations and training related to Ukraine and our European allies.
This leaves around 50% of total US aid in the form of military hardware and ammunition sent from old-to-obsolete US stockpiles, US stockpiles which are then replenished with newly manufactured, latest upgrades versions.
Second: under no circumstances will Vlad the Invader's Russia admit defeat or "pull back" from Ukraine.
Instead, they will have to be pried out, man-by-man and pushed back foot-by-foot, at potentially horrendous costs to Ukrainians themselves.
Russian propagandists claim they can continue the war for decades, while Russian propaganda says Ukrainians are always on the verge of running out of military manpower.
The truth of it will only be revealed in time, but the reality of the Old Soviets' invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is that it took them almost 10 years to admit defeat, and that was after suffering orders-of-magnitude fewer casualties than they have so far in Ukraine.
So, a fair guess is that Russia will not abandon its invasion of Ukraine until after Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has met his Maker and is slowly roasting over the hottest pits in h*ll.
When will that happen?
Could be awhile.
Third, as for Russia "letting" Ukraine joint NATO and the EU, of course, that is not Russia's choice to make, and as of today, such Ukrainian memberships seem all but inevitable.
Russia will have to suck-it-up, buttercup, and perhaps even make their own peace with NATO and the EU.
Fourth: As for alleged "uber-rich families who run Ukraine", this is pure Russian propaganda projection, since it's Russia's failed democracy which is ruled by its elite class of 400,000 millionaires and over 100 billionaires.
By stark contrast, Ukraine's GDP is less than 10% the size of Russia's, Ukraine's GDP per capita is less than 40% of Russia's, its population is fewer than 30% of Russia's and its numbers of millionaires is fewer than 1% of Russia's (3,000 Ukrainian millionaires vs 400,000 Russians) and Ukraine has exactly two billionaires as of 2023, compared to over 100 in Russia.

By the way, in the United States these days, there are over 20 million millionaires and nearly 1,000 billionaires.
So, a dollar today doesn't mean as much as it did years ago.

Forward the Light Brigade: "They can rule as long as the US pays the bills (to restore The lands wrecked by evil Putin)."

You can be certain that Russian millionaires and billionaires will be paying a large portion of the reparations bill to rebuild Ukraine.

A fair estimate today is that rebuilding Ukraine will cost a minimum of $1 trillion, and that on conviction of the Russian government for war-crimes, over $300 billion in frozen Russian assets will be seized to help pay for reconstruction in Ukraine.

Any fair resolution to Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- and restoration of normal relations with western countries -- will include Russian government agreement to pay reparations well beyond that $300 billion already all-but-forfeited.

So, it could take a long time.
The West needs to be preparing for the worst.

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