2023-12-20 01:46:18
The US Congress will not approve any new military aid for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, this year. The leaders of the ruling Democrats and the opposition Republicans in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, admitted this in a joint statement on Tuesday. The negotiators from the Chamber of Congress and the government will continue to work on outstanding issues in the coming days, said Schumer and McConnell.
The hope is that action can be taken “quickly” at the beginning of next year. The failure to reach an agreement on new aid to Ukraine before the end of the year does not come as a surprise, but it is a symbolically heavy blow for Ukraine. Especially since President Volodymyr Zelenskyj personally called for new aid during a visit to Washington last week.
US President Joe Biden asked Congress in October for new aid for Kiev amounting to around 61 billion dollars (almost 56 billion euros). However, this is met with rejection by parts of the opposition Republicans, even if the Republican Senate minority leader McConnell is in favor of new aid. The conservatives can block further funding for Ukraine with their majority in the House of Representatives and their blocking minority in the Senate.
Due to negotiations on new military aid, the Senate postponed its winter break in order to gain more time for negotiations. However, the House of Representatives, where there is particularly strong resistance to the aid among Republicans, has already gone into winter recess.
The United States is Kiev’s main supporter in the war once morest Russian invading forces. Since Russia’s war of aggression began in February 2022, the United States has provided or promised more than $44 billion in military aid to Ukraine. A prolonged US failure would have serious consequences for Kiev. The Western allies of the USA and Ukraine are therefore looking to Washington with concern.
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