Zelensky phones Mike Johnson urging ‘quick passage’ of stalled $60 billion Ukraine aid bill after Russia launched ‘air terror’ of over 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs last week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Speaker Mike Johnson to brief him Thursday on the ongoing war against Russia as Congress considers a major foreign aid package for the embattled country.

The call between the two leaders comes as Republicans have not committed to shelving a much-needed $60 billion relief bill due to internal unrest.

“I have briefed Speaker Johnson on the situation on the battlefield, in particular the dramatic increase in Russian air terror,” Zelensky said of the call to a post on X.

The Ukrainian president said Russia had recently launched a bombardment of more than 1,000 airstrikes on his country.

“Last week alone, 190 rockets, 140 ‘Shahed’ drones and 700 guided aerial bombs were launched on Ukrainian cities and communities,” he wrote.

“In this situation, prompt passage of US aid to Ukraine through Congress is crucial,” Zelenskiy continued.

“We recognize that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to move forward, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor.”

Zelensky reported on X that Ukraine has endured more than a thousand Russian airstrikes since last week

Zelensky has said US aid is crucial to the country’s ongoing war against Russia

The president’s plea for help comes at a time when Congress has hit a roadblock over how to proceed with financing Ukraine.

Last month, the Senate approved a $95 billion foreign aid package that included $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and nearly $5 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.

But after the Senate removed provisions from the bill intended for border security, Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill would be dead on arrival in the House of Representatives.

Now there have been talks about how the foreign aid package could be brought to a vote in the House of Representatives, with or without Johnson’s support.

The mechanism for doing this is called a discharge petition, but that would require a majority of members of the House of Representatives (at least 218 lawmakers) to sign off on the procedure, which would require bipartisan support.

And getting Democrats and Republicans on the same page on the nearly $100 billion package will be a tall order.

Some Democrats have spoken out against the bill for providing unconditional aid to Israel to continue its war against Hamas, while Republicans rejected the package for providing money to foreign countries but not to secure the southern border.

However, Johnson could allow a discharge request led by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., to move forward. Fitzpatrick is working with a handful of moderates in both parties to tackle a bill he authored.

Their bill provides $66 billion in defense-only aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and new border security provisions that would last a year, including some Trump-era border provisions such as Remain in Mexico.

Through a discharge petition, Fitzpatrick could capture support from the far right, bypassing Johnson to force a vote in the House of Representatives if he gets a simple majority of signatures.

So far, his petition has just 15 signatories, and a Democratic-led effort has 190. But the petition would lose to the hard right on financing Ukraine and the hard left on financing Israel.

Ukrainian soldiers are undergoing military training this month as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues

The $61 billion foreign aid package would provide military armaments for Ukrainian soldiers

Complicating Zelensky’s request for American money is an attempt to remove Speaker Johnson from power.

When the House voted last week to pass a massive $1.2 trillion government funding package, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced a motion to remove the speaker.

Greene and Conservative allies were outraged that the 1,000-page package was released in the middle of the night, with less than 48 hours to read it before the vote.

“He should not be providing funding for Ukraine,” Greene told reporters after making the motion to fire the speaker.

She called her attempt to remove the speaker “a warning” and indicated she would take no further action against it if Johnson complied with her wishes.

Still, Democrats are largely in favor of aid to Ukraine and could come to Johnson’s aid if Greene moves to oust him.