US aid will give Ukraine chance to seize initiative on battlefield —Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky believes Ukraine will be able to seize the initiative at the front, but for this, the US must provide the Ukrainian military with the necessary weapons.

The head of state stated this in an interview for NBC News, Rubryka reports.

Zelensky hopes that after the US Congress approves the allocation of new funds to help Ukraine, the American administration will quickly send the Ukrainian army the weapons and equipment urgently needed at the front.

"I believe that this support (an aid package of more than $60 billion—ed.) will really strengthen Ukraine and the armed forces, and we will have a chance to win, but only on the condition that with this money, Ukraine will receive the scarce weapons that are so needed to repel the enemy," he emphasized.

According to Zelensky, it is essential that this aid should not be spread in a thin layer all over but come in the form of crucial weapons:

• artillery,
• strategic long-range weapons, in particular ATACMS missiles,
• as well as air defense.

The president believes that now Ukraine has lost the initiative in the east.

"Now we have every chance, after stabilization, to take this initiative. For this, the appropriate weapons must come. When they come, we will have weapons in our hands and will have a chance, an initiative in our hands. Then we will be able to move forward, protecting Ukraine," the head of state is convinced.

Zelensky also responded to some US politicians' desire for "specific terms of the war."

"It depends on how quickly they (the Ukrainian military – ed.) will receive this assistance. There are a lot of variables, a lot of factors," the president added.

What is known about the provision of aid to Ukraine from the United States

On April 20, the US House of Representatives approved a bill on financing aid to Ukraine. Even before the end of voting, the required number of votes was collected for the draft law. Three hundred ten congressmen voted for the draft law, while 112 spoke against it.

The President of the United States called on the Senate to approve the bill on aid to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Subsequently, the majority leader in the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer, announced that on Tuesday, April 23, the Senate of the United States of America will consider the bill on assistance to Ukraine, which the House of Representatives finally approved on April 20.

It should be added that for the document to become law, it must be voted on by both houses of Congress and signed by the US president.