The US House of Representatives gave final approval for a $45billion (£37.34billion) aid package for Ukraine on Friday following the visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week. The measures passed by the Democratic-controlled lower chamber are part of a $1.66trillion (£1.38trillion) Government funding bill that won approval in the Senate on Thursday.
They will now go to US President Joe Biden to sign into law.
On Twitter, Mr Zelensky thanked Congress and Democrat and Republican leaders, saying it was “crucial” that Americans are “side-by-side” with Ukrainians “in this struggle.”
The new military and economic assistance comes on top of the $50billion (£41.48billion) aid to Ukraine this year along with sanctions on Russia which now include a cap on oil prices.
On Friday, Russia responded to the cap by threatening to cut oil output by five to seven percent to nations that support the measures.
Washington has also promised to send Kyiv a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery in order to boost Ukrainian air defences.
Mr Zelensky has been consistently asking for the Patriot missiles in order to counter three months of Russian missile and drone strikes on infrastructure, including Ukrainian power grids.
As a result of these strikes, millions of Ukrainians have been left without electricity, heat and water in freezing winter conditions.
However, US officials have warned that the single Patriot battery that Mr Biden promised to Mr Zelensky during their White House meeting on Wednesday will not change the course of the war.
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Switching to Russian, Mr Zelensky added: “Citizens of Russia must clearly understand that terror never goes without a response.”
This appeared to be a hint that Ukraine could strike at targets within Russia itself, potentially with American weaponry.
The former Servant of the People star added that he met his top military commanders and Kyiv was “preparing for various scenarios of action by the terrorist state. And we will respond”.
