President Joe Biden on Monday signed a bill into law aimed at streamlining the process for getting military assistance to Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion.
In an Oval Office signing ceremony for the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act on Monday afternoon, Biden said, “The atrocities that the Russians are engaging in are just beyond the pale.”
“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool in our efforts to support the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight to defend their country and their democracy against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s brutal war — and it is brutal,” Biden said while flanked alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and the bill’s sponsors, Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.
Biden noted that Sunday was V-E Day, which marks the end of WWII in Europe, and Monday is Europe Day, which marks the anniversary of the effort at European integration that produced the European Union. He noted that “Putin’s war is once more bringing … destruction into Europe.”
The bill, which eases some of the requirements for the US to lend or lease military equipment to Ukraine, passed with a bipartisan majority in the US House and Senate. Its sponsors say the legislation gives Biden much broader authority to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia and addresses how the US can get weapons to Ukraine faster.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
