'US military aid for Ukraine shows country will not become second Afghanistan,' says Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday (Apr 21) said that the approval of over $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine by the US House of Representatives is a testament to the fact that his country will not become "a second Afghanistan."

US House on Saturday (Apr 20) voted 311-112 in favour of giving Ukraine a $60.8bn military aid packageat a time when Kyiv has been fighting against Russia's invasion over the past two years and is now facing a critical shortage of ammunition to continue its defences.

"This aid will strengthen Ukraine and send the Kremlin a powerful signal that it will not be the second Afghanistan," Zelensky said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press".

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"The United States will stay with Ukraine, will protect Ukrainians, and... they'll protect democracy in the world," he added.

The Ukrainian leader further expressed concern that some of his own forces are also "exhausted."

"We need to replace them. But these new brigades, they have to have the equipment," he told Meet the Press.

Soon after the announcement, Zelensky, in a video on his social media handle, expressed gratitude stating that the US assistance would help save lives and "bring a just end" to the war with Russia.

"I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track," he wrote in a post on X.

The president said the bill "will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger".

EU chief welcomes US aid package

EU chief Charles Michel welcomed the decision stating that this would send a clear message to Russia that the ones who believed in freedom would continue backing Ukraine.

Taking to his official X account, he wrote, "I welcome the vote of the US House of Representatives approving the - long overdue - crucial USD 60 billion aid package for Ukraine. This sends a clear message to the Kremlin: Those who believe in freedom and UN charter will continue to support Ukraine and its people."

US aid for Ukraine 'will kill even more Ukrainians', warns Kremlin

Kremlin, on the other hand, released a statement threatening that the approval of the bill would eventually lead to even more deaths of Ukrainians.

"The decision to provide aid to Ukraine was expected and predictable," said Russia's presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as reported by state news agency TASS.

"It will further enrich the United States of America and ruin Ukraine even more, by killing even more Ukrainians because of the Kyiv regime," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)