United States: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington DC on Monday for a discussion at the White House and the United States Capitol, as right-wing US Republicans oppose sending additional funds to assist Ukraine against Russia’s full-fledged invasion.
According to the reports by Al Jazeera, the White House said in a statement on Sunday that US President Joe Biden had invited Zelenskyy to address the “vital importance” of maintaining US assistance for Ukraine’s defense and the “urgent needs” that it faced.
Key meetings and political dynamics!
Zelenskyy is also scheduled to speak to US lawmakers on Tuesday.
According to an adviser to US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Zelenskyy will also meet privately with Johnson, who has been attempting to link Ukraine funding to immigration improvements at the US southern border.
The discussions take place as Biden seeks to build support for a US$106 billion military assistance package aimed mostly at Ukraine and Israel, which Republicans delayed last week by storming out of a confidential briefing on Ukraine in protest over border improvements.
The meeting with Biden has been confirmed by Zelenskyy’s office, with key areas of discussion including defense cooperation between the US and Ukraine, “particularly through joint projects on the production of weapons and air defense systems, as well as the coordination of efforts between our countries in the coming year.”
Biden has warned of the possibility of the deterioration in US assistance for Ukraine, and Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, echoed similar worries on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday, as per Al Jazeera.
“What happens if Putin marches through Ukraine? What’s next? NATO countries, our sons and daughters, are at risk of being a part of a larger conflict,” she told the program.
Republican skepticism and blank cheque opposition
Republicans were doubtful, with Senator JD Vance, a close ally of former US President Donald Trump who is vying for re-election in 2024, rejecting Putin’s threat to NATO countries. On Sunday, he told CNN that he was opposed to what he called a “blank cheque” for Ukraine.
“What’s in America’s best interest is to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians, and we need to bring the war to a close,” Vance said. Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
The financing dispute comes as Western commitment to Ukraine appears to be unraveling after Kyiv’s much-touted June assault failed to make meaningful progress, and Russia deployed additional soldiers and intensified aircraft strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure as temperatures dip below freezing.
Ukraine’s Air Force said on Monday that air defenses fired down eight Russian missiles aimed toward Kyiv early Monday, hurting at least two people.
The White House said Biden’s meeting would come at a vital moment “as Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine.”
Additional Support
On Wednesday, the US State Department announced a temporary US$175 million batch of additional supplies for Ukraine, including HIMARS rockets, shells, missiles, and ammunition.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Sunday that “Ukraine has done an extraordinary job” defending itself.
“The choice is very clear,” he said on ABC. “If we do this and help Ukraine sustain the achievements that it’s made, help ensure that Russia continues to suffer a strategic failure in Ukraine. That’s one route to go.
Further adding, “The other route to go is to do something that the only people who are rooting for it are in Moscow, and maybe in Tehran and Beijing, which is not to provide this assistance,” he said.