Since two years have passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the delay in military aid from the United States could tip the scales in Moscow’s favor. President Joe Biden He assured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call that he was “confident that he would get the money” he had been waiting for, but it was Congress that had to make the decision now and things were not looking good out of. On Saturday, the National Security Council spokesman said, Adrian Watsonsaid Ukraine’s withdrawal from the eastern city of Avdivka, The country’s first major loss since Bakhmut’s fall in May last year was “the price of Congress’s inaction.” A message supported by the Secretary of Homeland Security, John F Kirbyand claimed that Ukraine’s problems in Avdivka were due to the lack of artillery ammunition in its arsenal.
The Senate approved a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan last Tuesday with a Democratic majority. Of this figure 60 billion are intended for Ukraine alone, and 14,000 million of which would allow the country to carry out a significant military build-up thanks to the purchase of weapons and ammunition at a critical moment in the conflict. Another $15 billion would be invested in military training and intelligence sharing, the rest is earmarked for the private sector (1.6 billion) and, above all, for expanding the Ukrainian army. Trumpism has put the spotlight on the senators who voted “yes.”
The numbers are in and the moment is critical, but the bill is stalled in the House, which is controlled by Republicans, and it doesn’t appear they will budge. Their conditions are clear; they want help and plans that increase security on the country’s southern border, otherwise there will be no agreement. It is “the most urgent problem facing our country,” emphasizes the Republican President of the House of Commons, Mike Johnson.
Biden doesn’t see it that way. He believes that refusing to approve this aid “plays into Putin’s hands” and that it would be “absurd” and “unethical” for lawmakers not to approve a new military aid package because it “goes against everything , what we are”. “As a country. “So I will fight until we have the ammunition they need and the capability they need to defend themselves,” the US president added.
The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, who met with Zelensky at the annual security conference in Munich, Germany, accused the Republicans of “political cunning.” For his part, the Ukrainian head of state trusts in “the wise decision of the US Congress.” However, the truth is that the members are not up to the work and have decided to take a break until February 28th. A decision that US spokesman Andrew Bates regretted, describing it as an escape “to enjoy an early holiday”.
The aid proposal is aimed at the hardline Republican wing, which is allied with the former president Donald Trump, the party’s favorite candidate, who rejects the fact that 60 billion of this aid only goes to Ukraine. MAGA members are pressuring Johnson not to approve further aid to Ukraine, and the House leader has said in his inner circles that he will write his own bill, but he doesn’t think he will start doing so until next year Month.
Too much waiting when time is short and Europe is becoming more and more nervous. Especially after Trump threatened during a campaign rally to abandon NATO countries to their fate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While it is true that many in Congress view Putin as a global threat, the most extreme right wing is becoming increasingly polarized in that sense, as can be seen in the expressions of admiration garnered by the moderator following the interview he recently conducted. The American Conservative Tucker Carlson to Putin in Moscow.
Not even the sudden death of Russia’s greatest adversary, Alexei Navalny, has led to a commitment from Republicans in the House of Representatives that suggests the extent to which aid to the Ukrainian people could be paralyzed.