First US assistance package under new law expected to arrive in Ukraine in April

Ukraine's Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova has not ruled out that the first package of US weapons under the new legislation passed by Congress could arrive in Ukraine as early as April.

Markarova expressed hope in an interview with European Pravda that the procedure for passing the bill on assistance to Ukraine will be completed as quickly as possible and President Joe Biden will sign it immediately. 

She said the law would take effect immediately and so would the authorisation to provide weapons to Ukraine. 

"Moreover, Ukraine and the United States are actively working on these packages, even when no such authorisation was in place. Therefore, I think everything will happen very quickly," the ambassador noted. 

Answering a follow-up question, Markarova stated: "We will not rule out the possibility of it arriving in April."

On 20 April, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to provide about US$61 billion in military aid for Ukraine.

Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic Majority in the US Senate, said the Senate will vote for the bill on Tuesday, 23 April.

Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Democratic Representative Bill Keating, during his visit to Kyiv, stated that the new package of military assistance would arrive "faster than anyone thinks possible" after Congress makes its decision.

The media reported that the United States is preparing a "larger than usual" military assistance package for Kyiv.