US President Joe Biden assured Ukraine of continued US support and at the same time called on Congress to decide on new aid to Kiev as quickly as possible. Right now, money will continue to flow into the country attacked by Russia, but there isn’t much time left, Biden warned on Sunday.
The day before, Congress approved an interim budget until November 17 without any new money for Ukraine in order to avoid a government shutdown. But Biden assured Ukraine and America’s Western allies that they could continue to count on Washington.
The vast majority of both parties – Democrats and Republicans, Senate and House of Representatives – support aid to Ukraine against Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, Biden said. Referring to the budget dispute, he added: “Stop playing games. Do it.”
But many lawmakers admit that the longer the war goes on, the harder it will be to win broad support for aid to Ukraine in Congress. Resistance to this is growing, especially among Republicans.
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President Biden assured that Saturday’s decision was aimed at avoiding a government shutdown that would have threatened without the bridge funding. Support for Ukraine is not in question. “Look at me,” he said, turning to the camera. “We’re going to do it.”
The Ukrainian government also expressed confidence. “Support for Ukraine remains firmly strong within the US government and both parties, in the chambers of the US Congress and, most importantly, within the American people,” said a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, on Sunday. He stressed that the bridge funding will not impact the billions of dollars of support that the US Congress has already committed.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Kiev that he did not believe the interim budget without aid to Ukraine would be the last word. “I hope this is not the final decision and that the US continues to support Ukraine.”