Estonia, Sweden and Czechia urge Europe not to relax after US vote on aid to Ukraine

Some European leaders have used the US vote on aid to Ukraine to urge Europe not to be complacent and not to lose momentum in stepping up efforts to produce arms and ammunition.

Source: European Pravda

Details: Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas welcomed the House of Representatives' vote on the Ukraine aid bill, noting that helping Ukraine is the best way to protect ourselves.

"Hope this vote encourages all allies to look through their warehouses and do more," Kallas tweeted.

"But now is also the time to remember that the EU now have to increase our own production of armaments, ammunition and supplies to aid Ukraine on a long term basis," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström tweeted.

"Tonight’s vote shows the necessity of this. We have to do our own homework as well," he added.

His Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavský, echoed this sentiment, saying: "But Europe must do more too. Our hesitation and indecision in effectively supporting Ukraine just motivate the Kremlin to further aggression that costs more lives."

A decisive test for Europe will take place on Monday when 27 EU foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg to plan future military assistance to Kyiv. It is planned that Ukraine's foreign and defence ministers will join the discussion remotely.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that before the weekend, European NATO allies had vowed to increase supplies of ready-made air defence systems to Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the leading official behind the latest push to send additional air defence systems to Kyiv, welcomed the US legislative move.

"This is a day of optimism for Ukraine + European security," Baerbock tweeted.

Background:

• On Saturday (20 April), the US House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill on foreign aid for Ukraine. A total of 311 members of the lower house of the US Congress voted in favour of the bill, while 112 voted against it.
• The draft law was promised to be submitted to the Senate as an amendment to the Senate Foreign Assistance Bill HR.815, passed in February. This should simplify the procedure for approving the package in the Senate.
• The leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, said that the Senate would vote on the bill on Tuesday, 23 April.
• US President Joe Biden has promised to sign the approved aid bill into law.

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