The White House officials on Monday (Dec 5) warned congressional leaders that halting the military aid to Kyiv would let Russian President Vladimir Putin “prevail” in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine as part of the 50-nation coalition that President (Joe) Biden has built or… ignore the lessons we’ve learned from history and let Putin prevail,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
“It is that simple. It is that stark a choice, and we hope that Congress on a bipartisan basis will make the right choice,” he said.
US President Joe Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, wrote a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson stating that if military assistance runs out, it would “kneecap” Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s invasion.
In the month of October, Biden had asked for a massive $106 billion national security package including military assistance for Ukraine and Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
However, the grant has been embroiled in divisions on Capitol Hill.
“There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” wrote Young.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine,” she added.
“Cutting off the flow of US weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories.”
‘Biden administration failed to address concerns’, says Johnson
Since the inception of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Congress has so far approved more than $110 billion for Kyiv. However, after the Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January 2023, Congress has not approved any funds.
The House and Senate last approved $45 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as part of a broader annual spending bill passed in December 2022.
Speaker Johnson took to social media and said that the Biden administration “failed to substantively address” Republican concerns about Ukraine strategy.
The Biden Administration has failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine, a path to resolving the conflict, or a plan for adequately ensuring accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers.… https://t.co/nwthjRxqyP
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 4, 2023
“The Biden administration has failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine,” Johnson said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
“We believe both issues can be agreed upon if Senate Democrats and the White House will negotiate reasonably,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
