The White House has warned that US aid to Ukraine will run out by the end of the year, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin could win the war if Congress does not approve new funding, AFP reported.
President Joe Biden's budget director, Shalanda Young, said in a scathing letter to House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson that cutting military aid would "bring to its knees" Kiev's fight against Russian invasion.
In October, Democrat Biden asked Congress for a massive $106 billion national security package, including military aid for Ukraine and for Israel's war against Hamas, but the funding has been mired in disagreements on Capitol Hill. "There is no magical bank of available funds to meet this moment. We have no money—and almost no time," Young wrote. "Cutting off the flow of American weapons and equipment would bring Ukraine to its knees on the battlefield, not only jeopardizing Ukraine's gains, but also increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories."
National security adviser Jake Sullivan went further, suggesting that a vote against aid to Ukraine effectively meant a vote to facilitate Russia's success. "Congress must decide whether to continue to support the struggle for freedom in Ukraine ... or Congress will ignore the lessons we've learned from history and allow Putin to prevail," Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
"It's so simple. It's such a clear choice." Ukraine is desperate for more Western aid as Russian forces step up their attacks in the winter after Kiev's counter-offensive failed in the summer. But Congress has been paralyzed by Republican infighting for months, with hard-right lawmakers particularly opposed to any additional aid to Kiev as the war drags into its third year.
Speaker Johnson, who took office in October after his predecessor was ousted in a right-wing coup, gave a cool response to the White House letter. "The Biden administration has failed to respond substantively to any of the legitimate concerns of my conference about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine," Johnson said at X. Johnson also reiterated Republicans' insistence on tying any aid to Ukraine to changes in US policy along the southern border with Mexico as migrant arrivals surge.
Casting Putin and Hamas as twin forces trying to "destroy" neighboring democracies, Biden sought to tie $61 billion to Ukraine with $14 billion to Israel in the aid package he requested in October, along with funding for the border. US Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said "the verdict of history will be really harsh" if Congress does not act.
He added that the question was not sincere, but that Republicans had "brought partisan and extreme immigration measures into the debate." "You can bet Vladimir Putin is watching. Hamas is watching. Iran, President Xi, North Korea - all our adversaries are watching us closely." /BGNES
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