House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference on Capitol Hill on Friday that she hopes the request to Congress for $33bn passes “as soon as possible.”

The additional money involves over $20 billion in guns and ammunition to reinforce Ukraine’s defenses, as well as $3 billion in humanitarian help.

The emergency funds have bipartisan backing.

But Pelosi could not specify how long it would take for the cash to be approved by the legislative body.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared the aid package to the United States’ Lend-Lease Act.

He compared the two because it helped in the defeat of Adolf Hitler during WWII.

Russia’s actions in Ukraine are described as a “special operation” aimed at disarming Ukraine and protecting it from fascists.

However, Ukraine and the West say that it is a justification for President Vladimir Putin’s reckless action.