Demonstrators hold Ukraine, US, and Kazakhstan flags outside the US Capitol, Washington, DC, April 20, 2024 (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

In a 28-minute special, I spoke with Times Radio’s James Hanson about the $60.8 billion US aid package for Ukraine and its prospects for checking and then defeating Russia’s 26-month invasion.

A quick reminder, especially to all the pro-Kremlin activists out there: Vladimir Putin’s play in February 2022 was that no one would come to the defense of Ukraine. He would break Ukraine in a few weeks, and the West would either not help the Ukrainians or would not rally in time.

He failed in that, but he thought, “Maybe I can do it in 2024.”

Symbolically, the US aid package is going to be a big defeat to that immediate ambition.

I explain how a 6 1/2-month blockade of the aid by Trumpists and hard-right Republicans was finally overcome, in a story featuring House Speaker Mike Johnson, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Iran’s attacks on Israel, and even Donald Trump. Along the way, I take apart pro-Kremlin propagandists such as the conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Then we look at how the aid may change the state of the invasion, from holding back Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine to enabling Kyiv’s strikes on vital Russian positions in occupied territory and inside Russia.

Ukraine War, Day 792: Kyiv Attacking Russians With US Long-Range ATACMS Missiles