US President Joe Biden signed the Lend-Lease Act, designed to simplify the procedure for supplying weapons to Ukraine.

The document, titled “The Lend-Lease Act to Protect Democracy in Ukraine of 2022,” was submitted to Congress even before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in January of this year.

On May 3, the bill was approved by a majority vote of the House of Representatives of the US Congress (417 in favor, 10 against), and before that the bill was approved by the Senate.

According to the bill , the President of the United States “may authorize the government to lend or lease defense assets to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to help strengthen the defenses of these countries and protect civilians from potential attack or ongoing aggression from side of Russia.

This bill will work similarly to the lend-lease law of World War II, when the United States supplied its allies with weapons, military equipment and food without advance payment and with a long delay. During the Second World War, one of the main recipients of such aid was the Soviet Union.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States and Biden for reviving the aid program. “Thank you @POTUS and the American people for supporting Ukraine in the fight for our freedom and future,” the Ukrainian president’s official account tweeted in English. “Today’s signing of the Lend-Lease law is a historic step. I am convinced that we we will win together. And we will defend democracy in Ukraine. And in Europe. Just like 77 years ago.”

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden has provided three packages of military assistance to Kyiv worth $800 million each. On April 28, the US President asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine.

According to experts, the lend-lease bill will significantly simplify the bureaucratic process that usually accompanies the sale of weapons: in this case, American weapons can be leased to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.

“Without a lend-lease law, when renting military equipment, Ukraine must return it to the United States within five years and pay damages for any damage,” Jordan Cohen, a political analyst at the Cato Institute, told Defenseone. “The bill removes such restrictions.”

In addition, the law saves Joe Biden from having to justify to Congress what kind of weapons he wants to lease to Ukraine on an emergency basis, Cohen added.

The purpose of the lend-lease law is to strengthen Kyiv’s position in peace negotiations with Moscow, said Thomas Warrick, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense program.

“This sends a signal to both Ukrainians and Putin that more weapons and ammunition will be available soon,” Defenseone quoted Warrick as saying.