The US president has been constrained in the funding and weapons he can offer Kyiv since the last of the existing funding ran out at the end of last year.
The White House has attempted to continue its support through other routes, but has been unable to send already manufactured weapons.
Despite the victory, Mr Johnson faces significant opposition to his willingness to work with Democrats to pass the bill, including from Republicans in Congress who hope to depose him as Speaker.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Speaker has ‘betrayed America’
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative hardliner who is leading the charge against Mr Johnson, said he had “betrayed America” by putting the Ukraine package to a vote.
“House Republicans and the American people would be stronger without his disloyalty and betrayal of his principles,” she said.
“Now it’s time for my colleagues to go home and hear from their constituents. We need a new Speaker of the House!”
The Ukraine aid supplemental was first proposed by Mr Biden in October, after the existing budgetary authorisation from Congress began to dwindle.
Aides suggested that a “one-and-done” package to fund the war effort beyond November’s election was needed to overcome Republican resistance in the House.
By December, the Pentagon warned it had almost exhausted the budget, and aid dried up entirely in January.
One final package of $300m was sent by Washington in March, after the Pentagon identified savings it had made by buying previous shipments of weapons in bulk.
Other European allies have already begun to prepare for an end to US aid, which could be exhausted after November’s election if Donald Trump secures a second term in the White House.
Mr Trump has suggested he would not renew the budget for foreign aid for Ukraine, and would apply diplomatic pressure to Mr Zelensky to end the war through a negotiated settlement with Russia.
Mr Zelensky has signalled his intention to continue the war until Ukraine has won back the territory it lost after Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February 2022.
Mr Trump did not respond to the result of the vote on Saturday evening, but posted on his Truth Social platform about the criminal proceedings against him in several court cases.
Source link