Zelensky set to visit Biden and Congress this week as Ukraine continues to push for more war aid on top of the $111billion it has already received
Joe Biden invited Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Tuesday after the administration warned it would run out of money to help Ukraine within weeks unless warring U.S. lawmakers take action.
The two leaders will “discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs” in its fight against the Russian invasion, as well as “the vital importance of continued support for the United States at this critical moment,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Sunday.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting would focus on key issues such as “further defense cooperation between Ukraine and the United States, in particular through joint projects for the production of weapons and air defense systems, as well as coordination of efforts between our countries in the coming year.”
Republican senators last week blocked $106 billion in emergency aid, primarily for Ukraine and Israel, after conservatives resisted eliminating immigration reforms they had demanded as part of the package.
About $60 billion of this aid will go to Ukraine, in addition to the $111 billion it has already received from the United States.
President Joe Biden invited Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Tuesday as he calls on Congress to approve more aid. The couple is pictured in Washington in September.
The Biden administration is increasing pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia. Pictured, President Joe Biden and his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, welcomed Zelensky and his wife, First Lady of Ukraine Elena Zelenskaya, to the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the visit in a statement Sunday.
The conservative opposition was a setback for Biden, who urged lawmakers to approve the funds, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not stop at winning in Ukraine and could even attack the NATO country.
“This cannot wait,” Biden said in an impassioned televised address from the White House on Wednesday.
“Frankly, I think it’s amazing that we’ve even gotten to this point where Republicans in Congress are willing to give Putin the greatest gift he could ever hope for.”
The White House said Tuesday’s meeting comes at a vital time “as Russia steps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine.”
In early December, Putin signed a decree strengthening Russian forces by 15 percent to support the invasion of Ukraine, increasing the army by about 170,000 troops.
Ukrainian troops fire an MT-12 or 2A29 Rapier, a Soviet smoothbore 100mm anti-tank gun, last week in Avdiivka, Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Russia have recently claimed success in Avdeevka, where Russia is continuing a long-running campaign to capture the city located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Local residents stand outside their apartment building and cars damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kharkov, Ukraine, on Friday.
Moscow has recently signaled a possible peace deal, although it concerns a shriveled, neutral Ukraine that would be difficult for Zelensky to swallow.
In a flurry of diplomatic activity since the White House announced Zelensky’s visit, a Mike Johnson aide said the new Republican House speaker, who has been trying to tie aid to Ukraine to funding for U.S. border security, will also meet with the Ukrainian leader on Tuesday.
A Senate spokesman said Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also invited Zelensky to speak at a meeting of all senators on Tuesday morning – a week after several Republicans angrily walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine at which he was scheduled to speak. via video.
Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, echoed those concerns on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, warning that “our national security is also impacted” by the fate of Ukraine.
Biden has asked Congress to provide a $110 billion military funding package for Ukraine and Israel, as well as other national security priorities. Zelensky walks down the White House colonnade toward the Oval Office with Biden last September.
Some in Congress remain skeptical that any increase in aid to Ukraine will make any difference in the war effort. Biden and Zelensky were seen in the Oval Office of the White House in the fall
“What happens if Putin marches through Ukraine, what happens next?” NATO countries, our sons and daughters, risk becoming part of a larger conflict,” she said.
But Republicans remain skeptical and Senator J.D. Vance, a close ally of former US President Donald Trump, dismissed the idea that Putin would put NATO countries in the region at risk as “ridiculous”.
He told CNN on Sunday that he opposes a blank check for Ukraine.
“You need to articulate what your ambitions are. What will $61 billion accomplish that $100 billion didn’t?” – Vance said.
“It is in America’s interest to recognize that Ukraine will have to cede some territory to the Russians and we need to end the war.”
Democrat Chris Murphy said the money would make a difference as Russia struggles to finance its military efforts.
“This could change the outcome of this war,” Murphy said. “Because at the same time that we are making new commitments to Ukraine, Russia’s ability to continue fighting this war is at risk.”
The US State Department announced on Wednesday a $175 million tranche of new aid to Ukraine, including valuable HIMARS missiles, shells, missiles and ammunition.
The funding row underscores signs that Western support for Ukraine is waning as Kyiv’s counter-offensive falters and Putin’s forces seek new gains.
The Ukrainian offensive has used billions of dollars worth of Western weaponry, but the front lines have barely moved in more than a year and Russian attacks along the front have intensified.
The White House said Biden’s meeting would come at a vital time “as Russia steps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine.”
In early December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to strengthen Russian forces by 15 percent, increasing the army by about 170,000 men.
In early December, Putin signed a decree to strengthen Russian forces by 15 percent, increasing the army by about 170,000 troops.
Moscow has recently signaled a possible peace deal, although it concerns a shriveled, neutral Ukraine that would be difficult for Zelensky to swallow.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that “Ukraine has done an outstanding job” defending itself.
“The choice is very clear,” he said on ABC. “If we do this and help Ukraine maintain the gains it has made, we will help ensure that Russia continues to fail strategically in Ukraine. This is one of the ways.
“The other way is to do something that only Moscow, and maybe Tehran and Beijing, are rooting for, rather than providing this aid,” he said.