US aid to Ukraine running out as Republicans unmoved by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea for help
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been unable to convince Republicans to provide further help to fight Russia, prompting an unexpected move from Tony Abbott.
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Ukraine is on the verge of running out of American arms and aid, with the US Congress unable to agree on further help in what Joe Biden says is “the greatest gift” to Vladimir Putin.
Republican leaders were unmoved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic in-person plea to extend their support to fight back against Russia, maintaining they would only offer more money if the US President agreed to stop the influx of migrants into the US.
The dire impasse – at what Mr Biden called “a real inflection point in history” – even prompted a surprise intervention from former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.
He challenged House Republican leader Mike Johnson not to leave Washington DC for Christmas “without at least giving the Ukrainians what they need”.
“I absolutely take your point about the need to sort out the chaos on the border,” Mr Abbott told him at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit.
“But just because you can’t get both things right, isn’t it better to get one thing right?”
Mr Zelenskyy, in his third visit to Washington DC, told congressional leaders that Ukraine could win the war that was sparked by Russia’s illegal invasion.
He said the talks were “very productive” but shared few details publicly, while outlining Ukraine’s success at winning back half the territory Russia had occupied since the invasion. Mr Zelenskyy said it was “insane” to suggest Ukraine could now hand back any land.
“We are also fighting for your freedom,” he said.
In a last-ditch effort to win over Republicans, the Biden administration also shared a declassified intelligence assessment which revealed Russia had lost 315,000 of the 360,000 troops it had at the start of the war, as well as 2200 out of its 3500 tanks.
Mr Biden said the US was “rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine”.
“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must prove him wrong,” he said.
The White House has been pushing for $US50bn ($A76bn) in further support for Ukraine as part of a $US106bn ($A161bn) package that also includes military aid for Israel and cash to fast-track US submarine shipbuilding and bolster the AUKUS pact.
But Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell – a prominent supporter of Ukraine – said it would be “practically impossible” to pass that before Christmas because his party would not budge unless the Democrats agreed to strengthen the southern US border.
White House budget chief Shalanda Young warned earlier this month that the US was “out of money and nearly out of time” to help Ukraine. She added: “Cutting off the flow of US weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield.”
But Mr Johnson complained that Mr Biden had offered “no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers I think the American people are owed”.
He said any new security funding had to prioritise “our own national security”.
Mr Biden lashed Republicans for “holding Ukraine funding hostage”, pointing out that their opposition had been celebrated by Russian propagandists.
In a sign of the anti-Ukraine sentiment among allies of former president Donald Trump, Republican senator JD Vance claimed any extra aid to Ukraine would be spent on “a bigger yacht” for one of Mr Zelenskyy’s ministers, as he blasted his visit to Washington DC.
“The idea of flying this guy in here at the last minute effectively to badger and guilt-trip us, I just find grotesque,” Senator Vance said.
His Republican colleague Thom Tillis said Senator Vance’s comments were “total and unmitigated b------t”.
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Originally published as US aid to Ukraine running out as Republicans unmoved by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea for help
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