Alexander Topchiy18:40, 11/17/23

Ukraine’s allies in the US Congress are beginning a tense struggle for aid.

New US aid to Ukraine risks not being approved until mid-December, and possibly longer. This calls into question Washington’s ability to maintain arms supplies that are vital to our nation’s defense.

According to Bloomberg , Ukraine’s supporters in Congress are fighting an uphill battle for a sweeping aid package, the fate of which is now muddled by partisan infighting over US border policy and separated from must-have bills that will require swift action.

The earliest Congress could wrap up negotiations and approve new aid for Ukraine is mid-December, nearly two months after President Joe Biden first requested $61 billion for the country in its war against Russia.

According to a Defense Department spokesman, the United States has begun limiting the flow of military aid due to the wait.

Senators from both parties plan to work in the coming days on an agreement on an aid package combined with border policy, which they can vote on after returning to Washington from the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

“We need to force ourselves to start negotiating next week. The Ukrainians are running out of fuel, guns and ammunition,” Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat with close ties to Biden, said Thursday. Congress must act “in the time frames that matter.”

Bloomberg writes that once-broad support for Ukraine is fraying as the fighting stalls and drags on for a third year, and the Kremlin is betting it can outlast Kyiv’s supporters in the US and Europe.

Influential supporters of Ukraine in Congress said they remained confident of more help from the United States. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said there was “no chance” the aid would not be approved. “It’s too important.”

In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised Democrats like Coons that the Ukraine bill would come up for a vote after the Thanksgiving break. Schumer also acknowledged that any package on Ukraine would include an agreement on border policy.

Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Susan Collins said late Wednesday that closed-door border policy talks were moving forward and she expected an agreement to be reached next week. “I’m told that while things looked very bleak over the weekend, there are new signs of life today,” she said.

“If we do not provide additional assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, it will be a mistake of historic proportions,” said Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Help for Ukraine from the United States – news

As UNIAN reported, earlier the administration of President Joe Biden proposed to allocate about $61 billion in aid to Ukraine in one package, which also included support for Israel and other countries.

National Security Advisor to the US President Jake Sullivan said that the lack of US funding has  already affected Ukraine’s ability to defend itself  from a Russian invasion. He called on the US Congress to approve the White House’s request for assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible.

It recently became known that Republican Minority Leader in the US Senate  Mitch McConnell  supported House Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to fund the government for a period of two months, although it would not include funding for Ukraine. Previously, McConnell, despite the position of the Republicans, advocated providing  aid to both Ukraine and Israel  in one large package.

(C)UNIAN 2023