Welcome to the program. We're going to start in the US. The Senate approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The approval comes after months of political arguments. Senate Republicans are still divided on the bill and previously voted it down. It includes $60 billion for Kyiv, $14 for Israel, $10 billion for humanitarian aid in conflict zones, including Gaza. The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where we don't know what will happen. So it's not a done deal yet. In the last hour, the US President Joe Biden said this.

America can be trusted. America can be relied upon. And America stands up for freedom. We stand strong for our allies. We never bow down to anyone, and certainly not to Vladimir Putin. As I said before, the stakes in this fight extend far beyond Ukraine. If we don't stop Putin's appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won't limit himself just to Ukraine. And the cost for America and our allies and partners are going to rise. For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable, history is watching. History is watching. History is watching. Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.

Right, Nomi, as you can see, standing by North America correspondent. Nomiya, great to see you. Let's get to the moments of history that Joe Biden was just touching on in a moment. But first, the technicalities. Where does this stand? Where are we in this process?

Well, so a floor vote later, four months later, we're finally in this position where this bill has been passed by the Senate. But as you mentioned there, it's not a done deal because now it has to go to the House, and the House is controlled by the Republicans. The speaker of the House, the Republican Mike Johnson, has already indicated that this is going nowhere. In terms of what happens next, Mr Johnson has to decide whether to bring the package to a vote in the chamber. Is he going to amend it and then send it back to the Senate, or is he going to ignore it entirely? Without getting too much into the weeds with it, if, let's just say, he decides to ignore it entirely, the House Republicans who did vote for the assistance to Ukraine for this package, they could join the Democrats in filing what's called a discharge petition. Basically, that's a rare parliamentary procedure that would basically circumvent Johnson, and then there'd be a vote. But I don't want to get too much into the weeds with that. At the moment, we've got to see what happens next. If it goes to the floor, it could take weeks, it could take months before it even lands on President Joe Biden's desk, if at all.

Using that cliché phrase, we'll see what happens next.

We'll see. We love getting into the weeds on this program, so I appreciate that greatly. Let's talk about the politics of it, though, from a step-back position. What is the opposition from some to this package?

Border security, that's one of the issues, first of all, because this is a narrower bill. Basically, Republicans, particularly those who are to the very right of the party, those who are very closely aligned to Donald Trump, they want very strict border security laws as part of this. They have said that we don't want to pass a security bill without this. The other thing you've got to remember here is that Mike Johnson, the House, the Republican leader, the Speaker of the House, and many of those Republicans who are closely aligned to Donald Trump, who is the front runner and likely to be the Republican Party's presidential candidate, they don't want to continue supporting Ukraine. They say they would rather the money be spent here in the US. There is this pressure on them for this bill not to go through. Now, the Speaker of the House denies that there's that pressure from former President Donald Trump. But that's some of the politics that's playing in the background here.

Nomiya, thank you so much for that. Now, it's not just the politics, as Nomi was talking about there, real-life implications. We're going to speak now to Kyra Rudik, who is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament Leader of the Gaulloos Party. Thank you very much for coming on the program.

Hello. Thank you so much for having me.

What's your reaction to what's happened there in the Senate and what potentially could still happen there in the US?

Well, we are very happy that the process is moving on, but it is not final. I think the toughest challenge is still ahead of us. Basically, there are so many people whose lives, well-being, and ability just to exist and to keep fighting, depend on if the politicians in the United States will find an agreement and find in their hearts ability to move forward, to keep the promise that the United States have made. It is incredibly hard to explain to people who are fighting at the front what is going on and how did it change from as long as it takes to It's still four months and we do not have confirmation for this aid.

Can I just ask you about the numbers here? $60 billion heading to Ukraine if this goes through Unamended. Give us an idea of what that would be used for.

Well, it's not going to head to Ukraine. There would be 10 billion that will be used for the aid for our state so we can cover on our budget expenses, and the rest will be spent for the military expenses. Mostly, they will be spent inside the United States to pay for the ammunition, to pay for the missiles, to pay for additional manufacturing of the weapons. Then at some point, these weapons will go to Ukraine. We are talking right now about a really important and critical project for us because that will imply having ammunition. We have a shortage of having the air defense systems, having different kinds of critical supplies. We really need it badly all of that four months ago. Can you imagine what is going on Now, and especially given the fact that we have no deadline for that and no understanding on when those missiles and when those weapons will arrive to Ukraine after if the bill will be passed.

What about the progress? I know you can't draw a direct line from this bit of money coming through and success or otherwise on the battlefield, of course. But give us an idea on the state of the military situation now, and then if and when any funding comes, what that could change.

Well, I'm not a military expert, but I can tell you a couple of things to have an idea. The first one is that while there are those delays in the support from the United States, there are three countries that do not have any delays in production weapons. It's Russia, Iran, and North Korea. They are manufacturing weapons and supplies to get ahead in ability to attack us. It is really, really dangerous. It was dangerous last year, but right now, they're getting more and more of that, and we see the attacks at the front intensifying. The question is for how long army will be able to hold them off. This is, again, an existential question for all of us. Well, the second sign is that ammunition that was supposed to be manufactured in Europe is also delayed. We understand that everybody's trying to help us, but we are paying for every day of this delay with the lives of our citizens. Because almost every night, another peaceful city of Ukraine is being attacked. People die, lives are destroyed, and this nightmare just continues and continues, and we do not have much to contradict to that.

Do you have any understanding or sympathy with the view of some Republicans in the US that they simply want money spent in the US, for example, on their border?

Well, we are talking right now, when we are talking about this 60 billion, about less than a chunk of % of the United the state's military budget. I think we as a country, have shown that we can use those money very effectively and efficiently by weakening Russia and destroying so many of their forces, so many of their weapons, supply, soldiers. We are the only country in the world who does not have a fleet but is able to destroy enemy's fleet, almost 20% of that. So whatever money are being sent to Ukraine, it's money very well spent.

Okay, Kyri Rudik, thank you very much for coming on the program. Thank you.

Thank you and glory to Ukraine.