How US House Approves $40 Billion Aid Package

The US House of Representatives easily passed a more than $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that funds new weapons and provides economic assistance. The legislation, which is significantly larger than the $33 billion package President Joe Biden requested last month, now heads to the Senate where approval is likely next week.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met Biden at the White House and called on allies to work on a long-lasting peace process in Ukraine, even as they seek to punish Russia over its invasion.

A video call between the European Union and Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss proposed sanctions on Russian oil imports that Hungary is resisting was postponed. Ukraine’s natural gas grid said Russian flows to Europe via a key entry point will stop from Wednesday as Moscow’s forces disrupt operations, a move that has the potential to reduce supplies.

Key Developments

House Approves Aid Bill (4:02 a.m.)

The 368 to 57 vote underscores bipartisan support for Ukraine in a Congress deeply divided on most other issues.

The aid bill approved by the House includes $19.7 billion for the Defense Department, more than $3 billion above the level requested by the Biden administration. This includes the $6 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine that Biden sought last month and $9.05 billion to replenish weapons stocks given from the Pentagon to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s First Post-Soviet Leader Dies (2:16 a.m.)

Former President Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine’s first post-Soviet leader, has died at the age of 88, current President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a social media video post.

Zelenskiy described Kravchuk, who led the country from 1991 until 1994, as a person who knew the costs of freedom and wanted peace for Ukraine. Kravchuk played a key role in phasing out Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Draghi, Biden Hold Talks at White House (1:20 a.m.)

Draghi met Biden to discuss the war and coordinate their response to Russia’s invasion, in the first visit to Washington by a European Union leader since combat broke out in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“People are asking, how can we end those atrocities? How can we reach a cease-fire? At the moment it is hard to have answers to that, but we need to think carefully about those questions,” Draghi told Biden. During their meeting, Biden told Draghi the US is ready to increase its oil production if that won’t affect clean energy goals, according to remarks shared by Italian officials.

ATO ChNief Stoltenberg Tests Positive for Covid (9:53 p.m.)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has Covid-19, according to a tweet from the alliance’s press office. Stoltenberg is experiencing mild symptoms and will work from home, according to the statement. The diagnosis comes just days before NATO foreign ministers are due to meet in Berlin this weekend.

US Reviews Carveout for Russian Bond Payments (7:30 p.m.)

The US Treasury is busy examining whether or not it will extend a time-limited carveout from sanctions measures that has so far allowed Russia to keep making payments on its foreign currency bonds and steer clear of default.

The future of those provisions -- which allow US holders of Russian sovereign bonds to receive payments on the debt and are currently set to expire May 25 -- are being “actively” examined at present, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers Tuesday in response to questioning.

“We want to make sure that we understand what the potential consequences and spillovers would be of allowing the license to expire,” Yellen said.

Zelenskiy Asks Malta to End ‘Golden Passports’ for Russians (7:01 p.m.)

President Zelenskiy said it is “high time” for Malta to end its support for so-called golden passports, which typically offer people citizenship in exchange for investing in a nation’s property or assets, for Russians.

He also called on Malta to block Russian citizens’ access to real estate, bank accounts and yachts, among other things.