WORLD BRIEFING: April 21, 2024

The U.S. House of Representatives voted resoundingly on Saturday to approve $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Speaker Mike Johnson put his job on the line to advance the long-stalled aid package by marshaling support from mainstream Republicans and Democrats. In four back-to-back votes, overwhelming bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers approved fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies. The scene on the House floor reflected both the broad support in Congress for continuing to help the Ukrainian military beat back Russia, and the extraordinary political risk taken by Mr. Johnson to defy the anti-interventionist wing of his party who had sought to thwart the measure. Minutes before the vote on assistance for Kyiv, Democrats began to wave small Ukrainian flags on the House floor, as hard-right Republicans jeered. The legislation includes $60 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. It would direct the president to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance, a concept supported by former President Donald J. Trump, who had pushed for any aid to Kyiv to be in the form of a loan. But it also would allow the president to forgive those loans starting in 2026 - NYT

The US Pentagon press secretary told reports on Thursday that US military supplies, including for air defense systems and artillery units, could be moved to Ukraine in a matter of days after final approval. The president could sign the aid into law later this week, as the US Senate is expected to approve the House foreign aid package - which also includes funding for Israel and Taiwan - as early as Tuesday. BBC

Other Topics of Interest

North Korea Fires Short-Range Ballistic Missile Salvo Ahead of US Election

The nuclear-armed North last week test-fired its most powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in Kim Jong Un's first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to Russia.

Without new U.S. military assistance, Ukrainian ground forces may not be able to hold the line against a relentless Russian military. The U.S. House of Representatives must vote now to pass the emergency spending package that the Senate overwhelmingly approved last month. The most urgent priority is to appropriate funds to resupply Kyiv with artillery shells, air defense missiles, deep-strike rockets, and other critical military needs. But even once Ukraine receives this much-needed support, a fundamental question remains: how to help Ukraine secure its future. That is a question NATO leaders will need to answer - Foreign Affairs

A Russian strategic bomber aircraft was likely brought down by the Ukrainian Air Force, according to an estimate by the British Defense Ministry, "the first instance of a strategic bomber being shot down by Ukrainian air-defense systems." The ministry said in an update on April 20 that it is "highly likely that Russia has now sustained at least 100 fixed-wing combat losses to date." The Russian Air Force lost one of its Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic heavy bombers on April 19. While the Russian Defense Ministry said there had been a crash likely caused by technical problems, Ukraine claimed it was shot down - RFE/RL

At least 13 Palestinians were killed in raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian forces said Saturday. Israel said its troops “eliminated 10 terrorists” and made eight arrests during the raid on Nur Shams refugee camp, which began early Friday. The Islamic Jihad militant group said three of its members died - VOA

Travel chaos roiled the world’s busiest international airport in Dubai for a third day, after a record-breaking storm which hit the United Arab Emirates caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights. The UAE experienced its heaviest rains in the 75 years on record on Tuesday, flooding critical infrastructure and causing unprecedented flight cancellations and delays at one of the world’s most important travel hubs. Airlines have been forced to cancel 1,145 flights since Tuesday, about a third of the scheduled departures and arrivals at Dubai airport, according to data from Flightradar24.  Dubai airport on Thursday said it was slowly resuming operations, including at terminals serving both Emirates and international carriers.  But it warned that “flights continue to be delayed and disrupted” and told passengers only to travel to the airport if they had received confirmation their flight was operating, amid a “high volume of guests”. - FT

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