It was Zelenskyy's third visit to the US capital and was probably his most important. Unlike before, support for Ukraine in the war against the Russian invaders is crumbling in the US political landscape. The number one theme of the visit was US aid: new funds are currently blocked by Republicans in the US Congress, much to Biden's chagrin.
Therefore, Zelensky also met with several conservative representatives. Zelensky said he heard “more than positive” signs. “But we know that we have to separate words from concrete results.” Ukraine is striving to break Russian air superiority. Whoever controls the airspace controls the duration of the war, the Ukrainian president said at a joint press conference with Biden.
Putin is betting that the United States will not make deliveries to Kiev, Biden said. “We have to prove him wrong,” Biden continued. If Putin is not stopped, “he will continue”. The United States would provide Ukraine with weapons and military equipment as long as possible. But without additional resources, the country would no longer be able to help Ukraine, he warned. “The whole world is watching what we are doing,” Biden said. “So let’s show them who we are.”
Quid pro quo
It's unclear how Biden plans to dissuade Republicans from the filibuster. He said he was open to compromise and had already made that clear. The US president again appealed to Congress to allow additional funding for Ukraine “before they give Putin the biggest Christmas gift they can give him,” as he said before the meeting.
The US is Kiev's most important supporter; Since the start of the Russian war of aggression, the US has delivered or promised military aid to Ukraine worth more than 44 billion dollars (about 41 billion euros).
However, Republicans last week rejected a $106 billion financial package presented by Biden, which also includes $61.4 billion in aid to Ukraine. Among other things, Republicans demand more concessions on US immigration policy and border security with Mexico.
Quick help is unlikely
And according to Republicans, more aid won't come quickly. It would be “virtually impossible” for Congress to pass an additional funding package before Christmas — even if there was a deal in the coming days, U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. Members of both houses of parliament are expected to leave Washington for the Christmas break on Thursday and are unlikely to reconvene until the second week of January.
Military strategist on the situation in Ukraine
There is an increase in Russian bombings in Ukraine. Colonel Markus Reisner analyzes the current military situation in Ukraine.
According to the Washington government, the funds for Ukraine previously approved by Parliament will be completely exhausted by the end of the year.
Zelensky had already insisted on US support in Washington on Monday. “We will not give up. We know what to do and you can count on Ukraine, and we hope we can count on you too”, said the Ukrainian president during a speech at the National Defense University in Washington.
European deputies write letter to the US Congress
Concern about the loss of US aid is also growing in the EU. More than 100 European deputies therefore want to send a joint letter to their North American colleagues. According to Portal, representatives from at least 17 EU countries – including Germany, France, Poland and Ireland – signed the letter. Europeans have contributed as much to Ukraine as the US has since the Russian invasion, the letter says, according to Portal, but US help is “urgent”.
debate
War in Ukraine: to what extent is the situation at an impasse?
Next year, the EU will be able to support Ukraine for the first time with revenues from the custody of frozen funds from the Russian central bank. The European Commission has already presented proposals for legal texts for this purpose. As a first step, you must ensure that the recipe is stored separately. In a second phase, part of the funds are planned to be sent to Ukraine.
Kyiv urges EU to act quickly
According to its own statements, Ukraine has already fulfilled a large part of the most recently outstanding obligations for the start of EU accession negotiations.
In return, Ukraine now hopes that a positive decision to start accession negotiations will be taken at the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, as proposed by the European Commission, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, also in an attack on the former -Hungarian minister, Viktor Orban, who had the right to veto against threats of accession negotiations.
Ukraine has been granted candidate status in 2022. The vast majority of EU states now want to decide, among other things, on the official start of accession negotiations at the summit on 14-15 December.
Intense fighting around Avdiivka
The military situation in Ukraine remains tense, especially around the eastern town of Avdiivka, which has been under dispute for weeks. “It's very hot. In fact, it's even hotter today than yesterday and the day before,” the head of the local military administration, Vitaly Barabash, said on Ukrainian television on Tuesday. According to him, the new wave of attacks by the Russians is related to the terrain that has become hard due to recent frosts, which allows attackers to use armored vehicles.
The fact that Avdiivka is currently the center of Russian attack efforts was also evident in the nightly situation report of the Ukrainian General Staff, which recorded 37 attacks in this area alone. According to official information from Kiev, everyone was repelled. Further south, in the Donetsk region, the heavily destroyed city of Mariinka continued to be attacked by Russian troops. In the north, in the Kharkiv region, Russian attackers are trying to increase pressure on the Kupyansk area.