- Biden pledges support for Ukraine
- Military funding excluded temporarily
- Republicans oppose aid; EU concerned.
President Joe Biden has pledged sustained U.S. support for Ukraine after excluding additional military funding from a last-minute congressional budget agreement.
The temporary measure, rushed to avert a government shutdown, omitted $6 billion (£4.92 billion) in military aid for Kyiv – a critical White House priority.
Conservative Republicans oppose additional military aid, with many openly opposing Mr. Biden’s war strategy.
However, Mr. Biden declared on Sunday that Ukraine could “rely on” US support.
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Mr. Biden said, “We cannot, under any circumstances, allow US support for Ukraine to be interrupted.”
Regarding the restoration of funding for the conflict, he stated, “I can assure [Ukraine] we’ll reach that goal, that we’ll accomplish it.” “I want to reassure our American allies that they can depend on our support and that we will not abandon them.”
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with approximately $46 billion in military aid.
President Biden has requested an additional $24 billion (£19 billion).
In recent months, the United States has delivered advanced equipment to Kiev, including long-range missiles and Abrams tanks. This comes as Ukrainian forces continue a slow-moving counteroffensive in the country’s south.
The temporary budget agreement, reached on Saturday and intended to fund the federal government for 45 days, temporarily eliminated military funding.
Senior senators from both parties issued a joint statement expressing their intention to “ensure that the US government continues to provide” assistance to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
This move, occurring just nine days after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington to appeal for additional support, reflects the growing opposition of hard-right Republicans to the conflict in the House of Representatives in recent months.
Republicans control the House of Representatives, while Democrats hold a narrow Senate majority. Budget legislation must be approved by both the House and the Senate before becoming law.
On Saturday, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz told reporters that funding “already authorized by this Congress is somewhere between sufficient and excessive.”
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor-Green argued that Kyiv had already received excessive aid, stating, “Ukraine is not the fifty-first state.”
Democratic Party senators strongly opposed this stance.
Senator Mark Warner said, “I can’t believe that people are about to abandon Ukraine at this time.”
Despite the dispute, Ukrainian officials have tried to frame this new 45-day funding agreement in the United States as an “opportunity” for diplomats to secure longer-term support, though it is an undesirable deadline.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry maintains that the “flow of US aid will not change” and that $3 billion in humanitarian and military assistance will continue to arrive, but concedes that “ongoing programs” may be affected.
Oleksandr Goncharenko, however, acknowledged that the suspended funding was causing concern in Kiev.
“The congressional vote is disturbing. The United States previously stated that they would stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes, but now see that Ukraine’s support is excluded from the agreement. This is cause for concern, not only for Ukraine but also for Europe,” he said.
This political turmoil is one of several symptoms of Western fatigue. The growing skepticism among some Republicans and the recent election victory of a populist, pro-Moscow party in Slovakia are troubling for Ukraine and the European Union.
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, expressed “concern” over the recent funding decision by the US Congress for Ukraine.
He said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.” “One thing is clear: the war between Russia and Ukraine poses an existential threat to Europe, and we must respond accordingly.”
President Zelensky stated in his daily address from Kiev that no one should be able to “turn off Ukraine’s resilience.”
It is evident that the country will continue to fight regardless of Western support.
Ukraine is aware of its overwhelming preference.
