“Don't have much time”
Biden urges Congress to help Ukraine
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The US Congress agrees on an interim budget that does not provide for military aid to Ukraine. President Biden nevertheless assures Kiev that the US “will not withdraw” as a supporter. At the same time, he is increasing the pressure on the MPs.
After agreeing on an interim budget without additional military aid for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden assured Kiev of Washington's continued support. “I want to assure our American allies, the American people and the people of Ukraine that you can count on our support. We will not retreat,” Biden said in an address delivered at the White House.
At the same time, Biden warned that there was not much time left to approve new aid. “We have time, not much time, and there is an overwhelming sense of urgency.” Asked what he had to say to Ukraine and allies, Biden emphasized: “Look at me. We'll get it done.” With a view to approving further aid, the president made it clear that he had made a deal with the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. It remains to be seen whether this can be trusted. Biden continued that he did not want to believe that Republicans and Democrats would “let more people die unnecessarily in Ukraine for purely political reasons.”
On Saturday evening (local time), the US Congress passed a financial plan with a bipartisan majority that was only valid for 45 days in order to avoid a budget freeze for the time being. However, this text does not contain any new aid to Ukraine. A handful of Republican hardliners in Congress who are particularly close to former President Donald Trump are opposed to any further military aid to Ukraine.
Kyiv remains optimistic
The United States is the country that has provided the most extensive support to Ukraine since Russia's large-scale war of aggression began in February 2022. The value of the support to date is 110 billion US dollars (the equivalent of around 103.9 billion euros). The new US budget plan was intended to launch a further aid package worth $24 billion.
The Ukrainian government, for its part, expressed confidence in the support from the USA. Kiev is “actively working” with its US partners to ensure that the next US budget contains “new financial resources to support Ukraine,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on several online networks that his US colleague Lloyd Austin had assured him in a telephone conversation that US support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian war of aggression would continue.
