Honor guards carry the coffin of Ukrainian army paramedic Nazarii Lavrovskyi, 31, killed in the war, during his funeral ceremony at Independence square in Kyiv, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (Francisco Seco/AP)
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials on Wednesday expressed thanks for $61 billion in new U.S. military aid that threw Kyiv’s armed forces a lifeline in their more than two-year war with Russia, even though the supplies aren’t expected to have an immediate impact on the battlefield.
“The key now is speed,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the social platform X. He urged quick deployment of the hardware that Kyiv expects to receive in the coming weeks and months.
President Joe Biden signed into law the aid package on Wednesday.
Ukrainian troops have faced acute shortages of shells and air defense systems as political quarrels in Washington held up the aid for months, allowing the Kremlin’s forces to edge forward in parts of eastern Ukraine in what has largely become a war of attrition.
Also Wednesday, U.S. officials confirmed the U.S. last month secretly sent Ukraine a number of long-range missiles that Kyiv has urgently sought so that its forces can hit Russian forces well behind the front lines. Ukraine used them for the first time last week to strike an airfield in occupied Crimea, the officials said.
The Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMs, have a range of some 300 kilometers (190 miles). More are expected to be sent to Ukraine as part of the new U.S. aid package.
The Russian army extended its bombardment of the northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, and Ukrainian long-range drones struck more fuel and energy facilities inside Russia.
Two Russian S-300 missiles struck Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, near the border with Russia, injuring six people, and another two hit the Kharkiv region town of Zolochiv where no casualties were reported, local officials said.
Another missile hit the southern city of Odesa, injuring one woman, Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said.
Ukrainian drones, meanwhile, targeted Russian infrastructure, setting ablaze two energy facilities in the western Smolensk region. Regional head Vasily Anokhin said the attack struck “civilian fuel and energy facilities” but provided no details.
Russia’s defense ministry said that eight drones were shot down overnight in the Belgorod, Smolensk, Kursk and Voronezh regions.
Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp in Washington contributed.
