US President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to “act without further delay” after the “massive bombings” in Ukraine, as negotiations to confirm a giant aid package for Kiev remain stalled.
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“Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue to send urgently needed weapons and air defense systems to Ukraine to protect its people,” the leader warned in a press release.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Moscow launched a large series of missile and drone attacks on several cities in Ukraine on Friday morning, including the capital Kiev, killing at least 18 people and wounding 132.
“In the face of this brutal attack, Ukraine deployed air defense systems supplied by the United States and its allies,” emphasized Joe Biden.
“We cannot abandon Ukraine,” he said, calling on Congress “to act without further delay.”
Republican and Democratic elected officials are still negotiating to confirm the $61 billion package that President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky have insisted on.
But nearly two years into a stalemate war – and after Congress had already released more than $110 billion – Republicans in particular began to see the bill as too high.
They tie their support for this new framework to a drastic tightening of American migration policy, which is still being negotiated.
Meanwhile, the US released its final tranche of available military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday.
The White House also reported a phone call between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Polish counterpart Jacek Siewiera about a Russian missile entering that NATO member country's airspace.
“President Biden is following this matter closely,” assured the American executive.