Hopes that US aid package can help Ukraine regain initiative - Steve Cardownie

President Zelensky of Ukraine praised the United States House of Representatives for approving a $61 billion (£49bn) military aid package to his country to help repel the Russian invasion and win the war that has been raging for more than two years now.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks on the phone with US President Joe Biden

In an interview aired on US television he said that more weapons would help Ukraine to regain the initiative, especially with the delivery of long-range missiles. A soldier in the Ukrainian army told the BBC from the frontline that: “It is better now if we let them attack and we defend but when we get the shells, drones and whatever else from this package we can turn things around.”

The aid package was approved overwhelmingly as Democrats and Republicans united to ensure that the deal sailed through. On hearing this news my close friend Yuri, from Kyiv, told me that he was relieved that this aid was finally approved as it had been held up since last October as the Republicans refused to back it until now. As a former Soviet tank commander, he knows only too well that this new supply of weaponry could prove to be be a turning point in the war.

He lamented the fact that Russian warplanes had almost complete dominance of the skies and echoed President Zelensky’s pleas for fighter jets, equipped with up-to-date technology, which would enable them to compete on a more equal footing.

Members of US Congress (left to right) congressman Nathaniel Moran, congressman Thomas Kean Jr., congressman Bill Keating and congresswoman Madeleine Dean take part in a briefing in Kyiv on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Florent Vergnes/Getty Images)

He told me that when he was in the USSR armed forces, he and his comrades were repeatedly told that the USA was their mortal enemy, and he would never have dreamed that Ukraine would be welcoming military aid from that source in its war with Russia.

I have kept a close eye on this conflict as many of my in-laws have been caught up in a war which is no more than the manifestation of Russian President Putin’s megalomania. A few of the women and children made their way to Scotland via Poland and are now staying in Edinburgh and after leaving their menfolk behind, they are desperate for a peaceful resolution but are adamant that Russian forces should retreat over the border and end this senseless invasion.

Parents, husbands and brothers face the uncertainty of continuing air strikes that plague their city, Kyiv, and the dangers that that brings with it but they are resolute and their determination to see the war through until the Russian forces are defeated is undiminished. They constantly reassure their loved ones here in Edinburgh that morale is high despite the weariness of the daily sirens which sound off, calling on them to seek shelter. Video calls to and from Edinburgh offer a little solace and they long for the day when families will be able to meet in person.

My fellow Edinburgh Evening News columnist, Angus Robertson MSP, wrote in yesterday’s paper that: “Ukraine’s allies across the world must build on this renewal of support from the United States and continue to arm Ukraine. There is no question – Ukraine must win this war.” A sentiment that I wholeheartedly endorse!