File photo. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) walks with US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (L) as he arrives to meet with leaders of the US Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 21 September 2023.
Dec 5,
2023. Posted by Balkan
Periscope - Hellas
Ukraine
President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and top aides to US President Joe Biden will make
their case to US senators on Tuesday (5 December) about why a fresh infusion of
military assistance is needed to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders.
US officials say the United States will spend all it has available for Ukraine by the end of the year, a dire prediction that comes as Kyiv has struggled to make major advances in its 2023 counteroffensive against Russia.
Biden’s
administration in October asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to
pay for ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but
Republicans who control the House with a slim majority rejected the
package.
Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a close Biden ally, announced on Monday night
that the administration has invited Zelenskyy to address senators via secure
video as part of a classified briefing on Tuesday “so we can hear directly from
him precisely what’s at stake in this vote.”
In
addition, a variety of top Biden officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are expected to brief the
senators on Tuesday.
Schumer
also started the process of advancing a Ukraine-Israel emergency aid bill on
the Senate floor.
“America’s
national security is on the line around the world” with the fate of Ukraine aid
hanging in the balance, Schumer said in a Senate speech. “Autocrats, dictators
waging war against democracy, against our values, against our way of life.
That’s why passing this supplemental is so important. It could determine the
trajectory of democracy for years to come.”
Zelenskyy
told Reuters in a November interview that despite the slow going, Ukraine
would try to deliver battlefield results by the end of the year and
that he remained sure Kyiv would eventually have success in the war despite
difficulties at the front.
But the
stalled drive to get US assistance has alarmed the Biden White House, which
fears a failure to help Ukraine further would increase the likelihood of
Russian victories.
Euractiv
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