BB.lv: The US does not have a “Plan B” for military assistance to Ukraine

The United States does not have a “Plan B” on the issue of military assistance to Ukraine, with the exception of $60 billion blocked by Congress, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, April 11, citing unnamed American officials. The White House is disappointed both by the Republicans, who have been delaying aid to Kyiv since the fall of 2023, and by the European partners, who, according to the Joe Biden administration, should transfer profits from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine, the agency’s interlocutors note.

In addition, Washington is convinced that the EU states might, from their own reserves, organize the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv, the need for which has been repeatedly stated by the Ukrainian authorities.

During a visit to Kyiv in March 2024, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan promised that the military aid bill to Ukraine would receive bipartisan support and refused to discuss “Plan B” in this matter. Sullivan did not say when exactly Republicans and Democrats would reach an agreement.

Disputes in the US Parliament regarding aid to Ukraine

New funding for military assistance to Ukraine, which has been repelling Russian aggression for two years, cannot be agreed upon in the US Congress since the fall of 2023. On February 13, the Democratic-controlled upper house of the US parliament, the Senate, approved a bill to provide $95.3 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Kyiv should receive $60.06 billion of this.

However, this document may not pass the House of Representatives, where the Republican Party has a majority. Speaker of the Lower House of Congress Mike Johnson has already stated that the bill in its current form is obviously unpassable, since it does not include funding for measures to strengthen the protection of the US southern border, which Republicans insist on.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called on the US Congress to approve a 60-billion dollar package of military assistance to Kyiv as soon as possible. The longer the United States delays providing such assistance, the more Ukrainians will die at the front, Stoltenberg warned.