From Disappointment To Relief: How Ukraine's Political Fortunes Changed In A Week

Soon after Iran’s April 13 attempted airstrike on Israel — a massive bombardment of about 300 missiles and drones — a Ukrainian YouTuber couldn’t help but notice the difference in global reaction.

U.S. forces, including fighter jets, joined by French and British forces, helped Israel down almost all of the incoming fire in an impressive display of military resources and Western know-how . It was a lesson not lost on the Ukrainians.

A Ukrainian-born YouTuber who goes by Yewleea, who says she left New York to return to her home country to help with the war, called it “ kind of incredibly fucking hypocritical ,” given Israel’s state-of-the-art air defense system and unrealized Western promises of aid to Ukraine.

“That was done specifically to make a point,” she said in a livestream. “They didn’t need the help. Ukraine does need the help. And Ukraine was promised all the help. Yet we’re not receiving it.”

That same attack, though, ultimately ended up freeing about $60.8 billion in U.S. military and economic aid for the beleaguered Eastern European country by pushing the stalled funding to the forefront in Washington.

A week after Ukrainians saw footage of the global powers rushing to knock out of the sky the same kind of Iranian Shahed drones they face nightly alone, many tuned into C-SPAN to watch 72% of the House vote Saturday, after months of delay, to give Ukraine the desperately needed aid.

“It’s been said it’s never too late to do the right thing. Well, we’re coming really close,” said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, on the House floor.

But the road to get there, for Ukrainians and their allies, began with the Iran attack and the world’s reaction to it.

“This night