Release of the last tranche of military aid available from Washington for kyiv

2023-12-28 07:19:26

For kyiv, money as the sinews of war is starting to become blocked. The United States announced on Wednesday the release of $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, their last tranche available without a new vote in the American Congress.

Negotiations are still slipping between Republican and Democratic parliamentarians on the validation of the 61 billion envelope insisted on by President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. “It is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to advance our national security interests by helping Ukraine defend itself,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

“Thank you for your help, we will win”

This latest aid released includes ammunition for air defense systems and anti-tank weapons, according to the State Department. “Thank you for your help, we will win,” reacted the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Andriï Iermak on X in the evening.

However, Senate leaders have already noted that the US Congress will end the year without approving new funds. This is yet another disappointment for the Ukrainian president, in a year marked by the disappointed hope of a major counter-offensive and increased pressure from Russia on the front.

The White House had warned that it would “run out of resources” for Ukraine “by the end of the year”. “We only have one envelope of aid left” before the funds dedicated to Ukraine “run out,” a White House spokesperson, John Kirby, announced on December 18. “When it is sent, we will no longer have authorization (…). And we will need Congress to act without delay,” he warned.

The Kremlin is rubbing its hands

Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington in mid-December in person – his third trip to the American capital in a year – to try to increase the pressure. But almost two years after the start of a war which is getting bogged down and more than 110 billion dollars already released by Congress, the question of the continuity of this support arises with increasing insistence.

Since the start of the conflict, the Kremlin has been banking on the decline in Western aid, and any hesitation from kyiv’s allies reinforces Russia’s belief that its bet will be a winner. However, the failure of Congress to vote for a new package does not mean the end of support for kyiv. American parliamentarians return to school on January 8, and the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate have only stated their intention to validate this envelope. It is in the House of Representatives that things get complicated. Its new president, Republican Mike Johnson, is not opposed to extending American assistance, but claims that it is not sufficiently regulated.