2023-12-13 01:20:00
The Biden administration says that without Congressional intervention, it will run out of money to arm Ukraine by the end of the year. For the continuation of military and economic aid, he demands to set aside another 61 billion dollars (almost 1.4 trillion CZK).
However, the emergency package with this item met with opposition from Republican lawmakers. In exchange for his support, they want a significant tightening of American immigration policy, which is very difficult for Biden’s Democrats to digest.
In front of the senators, Zelenskyi emphasized how important American aid is for his country. Biden warned after meeting with Zelensky that Ukraine’s failure in the war against Russia would only embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and other aggressors, writes the AP agency. Both statesmen spoke at a joint press conference about unity and the need for further support.
Approval by Christmas? Virtually impossible, says the Republicans
The chief Democratic negotiator in the Senate, Chris Murphy, told the media today that, according to him, it is possible to present a proposal of the package to colleagues in the House by Christmas.
“It’s practically impossible,” however, Republican Mitch McConnell rejected this candidate, according to The New York Times (NYT) – thus rejecting the scenario that Republicans and Democrats would agree on a joint course of action by the Christmas break and this agreement would be approved by both houses of Congress. “That doesn’t mean it’s not important,” added McConnell, who among the Republicans, they are among the weakest supporters of support for Kyiv.
However, the willingness to vote for the release of additional money for Ukraine is weakening in his party, while for Republican voters, supporting Kyiv is not a priority. Republicans, on the other hand, have been promoting a tough immigration policy for a long time, and now they have combined this hot topic with discussions about a crisis package that would allocate money not only to help Ukraine, but also Israel.
The White House meeting didn’t help?
Even the current visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to Washington apparently did not bring a breakthrough in the negotiations.
During today’s meeting with Zelensky at the White House, he declared that “Congress must approve” his proposal for a crisis package “so that he does not give Putin the best Christmas present he can.”
“We must not let him succeed,” Biden said of Putin, who he said plans to bomb Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter.
In front of journalists, Zelenskyi did not answer the question whether Ukraine can defeat Russia even without American help. So far, Washington has provided the embattled country with about $44 billion worth of military equipment, which is more than Germany, Britain, Norway and Denmark, the next four countries in the ranking of the most important suppliers, combined, according to the NYT.
A painter for the Ukrainian president
At the same time, Zelensky’s visit was to “underline the unshakable commitment of the United States to support the Ukrainian people in their defense against the brutal Russian invasion.” the White House stated before the meeting.
Today, Zelenskyj also spoke before US senators, according to the Politico website, he also had meetings with the leaders of the two main political parties in the House of Representatives.
“It was a very powerful meeting. President Zelenskyi has made it very clear that he needs help. But if he gets that help, he can win this war.” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after the morning meeting. According to him, the Ukrainian president told the senators that Kyiv urgently needs additional supportotherwise there is a risk of disrupting military operations, but also of weakening the wider coalition of Ukraine’s allies.
Nothing has changed… But Zelensky hopes
However, the statements of Republican senators after Tuesday’s meeting indicated that Zelensky’s performance did not change their position. “It’s old familiar stuff. There is nothing new there,” Senator Eric Schmitt said about the arguments of the Ukrainian head of state.
At the same time, it was already about Zelensky’s third visit to the US since the Russian invasion to Ukraine in February 2022.
In a statement on the X social network, Zelensky described the meeting with the senators as friendly and sincere. “I briefed members of the US Senate on the current military and economic situation in Ukraine, the importance of maintaining key US support, and answered their questions,” he stated.
Zelenskyy stated that he received from the US Congress positive signals regarding the acceptance of aid for Ukraine, but they have to wait for concrete results.
At a meeting in the Oval Office, according to AP, Biden promised Zelensky that Ukraine can count on American help.
Zelenskyy said his country continues to strive to achieve self-sufficiency and become less dependent on Western aid. “Thanks to Ukraine’s success, success in defense, other European states are protected from Russian aggression,” echoed Ukraine’s president, whose country faces a Russian advance in the east and waves of attacks on cities and energy infrastructure as winter begins.
Critical Republican Johnson
Before meeting with Biden, Zelenskyj met with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. He subsequently stated that he told the Ukrainian president that “we stand by his side” for “brutal” Russian aggression, at the same time he reiterated Republican demands for approval of additional aid to the embattled country.
In addition to speaking of a “disaster” at the US-Mexico border, according to the NYT, Johnson, a Republican, criticized the White House for what he said cannot explain how Kiev could win a war with Russia. “Their answers are insufficient,” says Johnson.
The Kremlin believed in a fiasco
No additional US military aid to Ukraine can change the situation on the battlefield and is doomed to failure. Commenting on Zelensky’s expected meeting with Biden at the White House, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this today, according to the TASS agency.
“The tens of billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine have not helped it gain any success on the battlefield. The next tens of billions of dollars that Ukraine wants to pump into its economy will be doomed to the same fiasco,” said Peskov, saying that American aid cannot change the situation on the battlefield in any way. He added that Moscow is “watching closely” the meeting between Zelenskyi and Biden.
Zelenskyy discussed assistance from the IMF
In the US, Zelenskyi discussed aid on several fronts. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved the payment of 900 million dollars (20.4 billion crowns) to Ukraine from the bailout loan program, Reuters reported.
A few hours later During his trip to Washington, Zelensky met with the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva and thanked her for her support. Georgieva praised Ukraine for its economic progress despite the ongoing war.
“We talked about the remarkable resilience of the Ukrainian people despite the huge war losses. The economy is performing well and GDP growth is expected to reach at least 4.5 percent this year. Inflation continues to decline and reached an annual rate of 5.1 percent in November,” said Georgieva.
Zelenskyy said that he is grateful to the IMF for the support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people because “in times of war, the security of the financial system is absolutely essential”. He noted that Kyiv is working on implementing the recommended reforms. They also discussed the possibilities of using frozen Russian assets with Georgieva, the Ukrainian president’s office said.
Key week. And a meeting with Orbán
This week is crucial for Ukraine as the European Union also decides whether to open formal talks on its entry into the bloc.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made it clear that he is against the move and has the power to block such a decision. According to the BBC, Orbán and Zelenskyj are apparently together they had an intense conversation when they met at the inauguration of Argentina’s new president, Javier Milea, on Sunday. Details of their conversation have not been released.
According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany and Poland have a common interest in expanding the European Union to the south and east. He supported the opening of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.
According to diplomats, the preparatory negotiations before the regular December European Council, which starts already on Thursday morning, are far from over. Both the negotiators and the participants of the upcoming summit, i.e. the presidents and prime ministers of the member states, continue to try to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to support the two main topics that will be addressed at the two-day meeting. One is the decision to start accession talks with Ukraine and the other is the revision of the multi-year financial framework, i.e. the EU budget for the years 2021 to 2027, in which long-term financial aid for Ukraine is to be approved. The positions on both topics are clear so far, 26 countries are against Budapest.
Head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Jermak today on the Telegram platform praised the air defense systems provided by the West and their use by Ukrainian soldiers. According to him, their effectiveness cannot be doubted.
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