Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm me and Masters, and today we're looking into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with a long-delayed $61 billion aid package for Ukraine passed by the House on Saturday, 311 to 112, with all Democrats for it,

and Republicans voting 112 to 101 against it.

Joining us to discuss what Ukraine needs, as Russia prepares for a June offensive with as many as 300,000 recruits mobilized,

while the Ukrainians are having trouble holding the line as they ran out of troops and ammunition,

is Aram Shabanian, the open source information gathering manager at New Lyons Institute.

He recently taught in non-proliferation and terrorism studies at the Middlebury Institute

for International Studies in Monterey, where his research focused on the Cold War and

contemporary histories of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Then we'll get a perspective from Ukraine on this belated boost to flagging morale as

Moscow Marjorie and Trump's pro-Puton caucus for months have been doing Putin's bidding

to the detriment of an outgunned and outmaned country under attack from its imperialist neighbor.

Joining us is Natalia Gumenyuk, a Ukrainian journalist and country under attack from its imperialist neighbor.

Joining us is Nadalia Gumenyuk, a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, as well as co-found of the Reckoning Project.

We'll discuss her article at Foreign Affairs, Brave New Ukraine, how the world's most besieged

democracy is adjusting to permanent war.

Then finally we'll discuss the 366 to 58 House vote to approve a $26 billion aid package for

Israel with 37 liberal Democrats voting no because there were no conditions on Netanyahu

and examine the ongoing war in Gaza and

Israel's tenuous standoff with Iran as both Israel and Palestine appear to be leaderless and

directionless. Joining us is Stephen Simon, who served on the National Security Council staff

...