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(WASHINGTON) — The House on Wednesday approved measures to ban Russian energy products, provide billions in assistance to Ukraine and fund the government through the fall — but only after Democratic infighting forced party leaders to remove more than $15 billion in COVID aid from the package.

With the federal government set to run out of funding as soon as Friday, the $1.5 trillion package will avert a shutdown through September, while also adding billions in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. The House also passed a four-day stopgap measure to give the Senate time to approve the larger package.

The bill, which includes $13.6 billion in humanitarian and defense aid to Ukraine, received bipartisan support and passed 361-69. The House approved the non-defense portion of the package 260-171, with one member voting present. Later, the House approved a proposal to ban Russian oil and energy imports in a 414-17 vote.

The new aid to Ukraine, billions more than initially requested by the Biden administration, is evenly split between humanitarian and military aid, includes millions to help feed and resettle displaced Ukrainians and nearly $2 billion in potential economic relief for Ukraine and neighboring countries.

Of the $6.5 billion in emergency defense assistance, the package directs $3.5 billion to help arm Ukrainians and allied forces in the region with U.S. military stocks, and another $3 billion to support the deployment of additional U.S. troops and materials to Europe.

In a setback for the Biden administration’s COVID strategy, House Democrats were forced to scrap $15 billion in COVID-19 funding for therapeutics and research in the spending package after an internal revolt from members who objected to repurposing unspent relief Congress had previously approved for states to use at their discretion.

Pelosi, who called the removal of COVID-19 funds “heartbreaking,” told reporters the change was necessary in order for the package to clear the Senate, where a 50-50 split forces Democrats to rely on the votes of at least 10 Republicans.

“We’re in a legislative process. We have a deadline. We’re keeping government open,” she said. “We had a lively negotiation.”

“Some of the members are disappointed,” Pelosi continued. “‘I didn’t get what I wanted in the bill’ — you’re telling Noah about the flood.”

Pelosi, however, said the House would take up a standalone COVID funding bill Wednesday with a plan for the bill to be debated and voted on next week.

Separately, the chamber also approved a measure to ban the import of Russian oil and energy products one day after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to the same effect.

The bill would also direct the administration to consider taking steps to suspend Russia from the World Trade Organization and expand on language in the Magnitsky Act — a sanctions law approved by Congress in 2012 — to allow the Biden administration to impose additional sanctions on Russian officials and individuals linked to the war in Ukraine.

Democratic leaders made changes to that legislation — initially crafted with Republicans in both chambers — after the White House raised concerns that it would make it harder for Biden to ease sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin deescalated in Ukraine.

Another provision to suspend trade relations with Russia and Belarus was adjusted at the White House’s request, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters Wednesday.

“It was taken out because the president rightfully wants to talk to our allies about that action, which I think was appropriate,” he said.

Democrats were expected to pass the measures earlier than expected Wednesday night, allowing them to salvage their caucus retreat in Philadelphia that was initially slated to begin Wednesday afternoon.

Biden will address the caucus in Philadelphia on Friday.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.

Here are highlights of what defense officials told reporters on Wednesday:

Pentagon against rejects sending fighter jets to Ukraine

On Tuesday evening, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby dismissed a surprise offer from Poland to send all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany “and place them at the disposal” of the U.S. government.

“The prospect of fighter jets ‘at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America’ departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” Kirby said in a statement, adding that “we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Polish counterpart about the MiG-29 offer, thanking him for Poland’s willingness to help Ukraine, but rejecting the notion of using the U.S. as an intermediary for any aircraft transfer.

“He stressed that we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian air force at this time, and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either,” Kirby said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

Kirby characterized the idea as high risk, low reward — the risk being possible escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The intelligence community has assessed the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of military escalation with NATO,” he said.

In addition to that risk, the U.S. believes other forms of military support are more effective.

“We believe the best way to support Ukrainian defense is by providing them the weapons and the systems that they need most to defeat Russian aggression,” Kirby said. “In particular, anti-armor and air defense.”

The U.S. has sent hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military aid into Ukraine, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons such as the Javelin and Stinger systems.

Earlier on Wednesday, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Russian anti-air capability now spans much of Ukrainian airspace, which also makes aircraft less viable in the fight against the invaders.

Kirby added that the Ukrainian air force still has several squadrons of “fully mission-capable” aircraft of its own.

“We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities.

While the U.S. has rejected the idea for now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued to call for more aircraft.

“This is about people’s lives. We ask again: make the decision faster. Don’t throw the responsibility — send us the jets,” Zelenskyy said in a Wednesday speech.

And the skies above Ukraine are not yet dominated by Russia.

On Wednesday morning, the U.K. Ministry of Defense tweeted an intelligence update saying “Ukrainian air defenses appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia’s modern combat aircraft, probably preventing them from achieving any degree of control of the air.”

“Although Russian air capabilities are significant, their effectiveness has been limited due to Ukrainian … air-defense systems, surface-to-air missiles, and MANPADS,” Kirby said.

Patriot batteries arrive in Poland

Late on Tuesday evening, U.S. European Command confirmed that two Patriot anti-missile systems already in Europe would be moved to Poland. By Wednesday they had arrived, according to the senior U.S. defense official.

“We’re not going to talk about where they are, I’m not going to talk about their operational status, but they are in Poland and they are manned,” the official said.

The Patriot systems are capable of detecting and intercepting incoming ballistic missiles.

Russian missiles and ‘dumb’ munitions

Russia has now fired more than 710 missiles against Ukraine, with about half launched from within Ukraine using mobile platforms, according to the official.

The U.S. has also seen indications Russia is using “dumb” munitions. meaning ordinance that is not precision-guided. The official said it is not clear if these imprecise weapons are being used as part of the original Russian plan or due to problems with their guided missile targeting process.

“What we see manifested is increasing damage to civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties,” the official said.

Russian combat power

Russia has about 90% of its invading combat power still intact, the official said. On Tuesday, the estimate was 95%, but the official emphasized that these numbers are rough estimates, so it doesn’t necessarily mean 5% of Russian forces were taken out of the fight overnight.

No sign Putin preparing reserve forces

The U.S. still sees no indications Putin is trying to gather any more troops in addition to the more than 150,000 originally designated for the invasion, the official said.

Russia’s ground effort

Since Tuesday, Russians have further closed in on Kharkiv, gaining about 12 miles ground.

“It’s still heavy, heavy fighting there,” the official said. “We don’t assess that they’ve taken the city by any means.”

The U.S. has not seen any significant Russian movement toward Kyiv or Chernihiv in the last 24 hours, and there is still no sign of an an immanent amphibious assault on Odessa. Ukrainians have mounted a strong resistance in Mariupol, but Russians continue to surround and bombard the city.

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(WASHINGTON) – The Pentagon on Wednesday, for the second day in a row, rejected a plan by Poland to provide Ukraine with its Soviet-era warplanes through U.S. hands, saying the proposal would risk wider war between Russia and NATO.

Poland’s announcement Tuesday, which shocked U.S. officials, peaked hope in Ukraine that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s calls for more fighter jets would be answered.

But Poland’s proposal essentially punted the responsibility to the U.S. by calling for America to take control of the MiG-29 fighter jets at a U.S. air base in Germany and then provide them to Ukraine — an idea the Pentagon roundly rejected as “not tenable.”

Hours after the White House left the door open to a deal Wednesday, saying “logistical and operational” details were being discussed among the U.S., its NATO allies, and Ukraine, there was another surprise: The Pentagon roundly rejected the idea altogether.

“We do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time and, therefore, have no desire to see them in our custody either,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday.

The back-and-forth by both NATO allies has sparked confusion and exasperation. Poland originally opposed a transfer while the U.S. backed it — until Poland suddenly proposed doing so through the U.S., which now opposes it.

“This is not pingpong. This is about people’s lives. We ask again — make the decision faster. Don’t throw the responsibility. Send us the jets,” Zelenskyy said in a speech Wednesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recounting what she said was a 45-minute call with Zelenskyy about the U.S. providing lethal aid, said, “He wants the planes, the planes, the planes.”

Russia has warned any country from allowing Ukraine to use its airfields to support military aircraft, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying Wednesday, “This is an extremely undesirable and potentially dangerous scenario.”

U.S. intelligence has concluded the same thing, according to Kirby, who added that sending Ukraine additional fighter jets is not what Kyiv needs now in its fight against invading Russian forces and their overwhelming bombardment.

“There are alternative options that are much better suited to support the Ukrainian military in their fight against Russia. We will continue to pursue those options,” Kirby told reporters Wednesday.

Ukraine’s air force already has “several squadrons of fully mission capable aircraft,” he added, and the U.S. instead plans to continue providing “the systems that they need most to defeat Russian aggression — in particular, anti-armor and air defense.”

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with Stinger missiles — shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles that previous administrations had viewed as too escalatory to provide. The United Kingdom announced Wednesday it would provide its similar system known as Starstreak.

But for now, the U.S. is drawing the line against fighter jets, which U.S. officials say would be logistically difficult to deliver to Ukraine without risking Russian retaliation.

“The intelligence community has assessed the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of the military escalation with NATO,” Kirby said.

Just days ago, however, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had given “a green light” to Poland to provide the planes directly to Ukraine, although he said it was Poland’s choice.

Polish officials opposed the idea, fearing exactly the scenario Kirby laid out — with Russian strikes on Polish airfields. The Polish prime minister’s office even called reports the country would provide warplanes “FAKE NEWS‼️” in a tweet Sunday.

But two days later, Poland stunned the U.S. by saying it would provide over two dozen MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. “immediately and free of charge,” sending them to Ramstein Air Base and “at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America.”

“That actually was a surprise move by the Poles,” Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, told the Senate hours later, adding, “It wasn’t pre-consulted with us.”

Surprise turned to opposition, with the Pentagon calling the plan “not tenable” for the risk it would pose to U.S. service members.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak Wednesday, thanking him, but expressing outright opposition, per Kirby.

Western countries have significantly escalated their military aid to Ukraine, providing thousands of anti-tank missiles in recent weeks alone, according to a U.S. official.

But warplanes now seem to be a step too far, along with a no-fly zone. U.S. and NATO officials have repeatedly warned their forces will not get involved in the conflict in any way, fearing a Russian attack that could quickly spiral into war between nuclear-armed states.

Calls for a “limited” no-fly zone — over western Ukraine to allow for refugees to exit and aid to enter, or over humanitarian corridors — have fallen flat, too.

“Introducing, in our case, American service members in Ukraine, on Ukrainian territory or soil, or American pilots into Ukrainian airspace, whether on a full or on a limited basis, would almost certainly lead to direct conflict between the United States, between NATO and Russia, and that would expand the conflict. It would prolong it. It would make it much more deadlier than it already is,” Blinken said Wednesday.

To some analysts, a no-fly zone would not be a silver bullet here either, with the Kremlin using long-range artillery, even indiscriminate shelling, to grind Ukrainian forces and civilian targets down. Russia has now launched more than 710 missiles against Ukraine — about half of which have been launched from within Russian territory, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

“The best way to help protect the skies is through anti-air weaponry, which the U.K. is now going to be supplying to Ukraine,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said alongside Blinken at the State Department.

While the Biden administration has said repeatedly it’s consulting with allies and partners on what other military aid to provide, it’s unclear what else it could be. Some 75 percent of a $350 million package approved by Biden late last month has already made it into Ukrainian hands, according to officials.

But beyond individual missiles, the U.S. may be considering anti-missile batteries like the Patriot system. Nuland declined to speak publicly about that option, but told a Senate panel Tuesday there are “other things” on Ukraine’s “list that we think we can do, and I’ll leave it at that.”

ABC News’s Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler contributed to this report from the Pentagon, Sarah Kolinovsky, Molly Nagle, and Justin Gomez from the White House and Benjamin Siegel from Capitol Hill.

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