“For Ukraine it is a matter of life and death, and the times are crucial”: this is the message that Volodymyr Zelensky delivered, first to Congress and then to the White House, on his third visit to Washington since the beginning to approve the new American aid package support the Russian invasion. A very different visit than the one at the Capitol a year ago, when he was welcomed like a hero, invited to speak before assembled chambers and “rewarded” with an additional $50 billion in aid.
Zelensky was greeted without much fanfare on Tuesday and made no statement either at the Capitol or among the crowd of reporters following him, reserving his words for the news conference with Joe Biden after the meeting in the Oval Office. The Ukrainian president understood that the rescue of Ukraine depended on Mexico, but encountered resistance from the Republicans, who were determined to condition their approval of the new funds (over 60 billion after the 111 billion already granted) to two indispensable points: a crackdown to protect the border with Mexico, strengthening anti-immigration measures through rapid deportations and stricter asylum criteria (which Democrats oppose), and clarity on what the final strategy is, “the end game,” in the words of Republican spokesman Mike Johnson to use.
The Ukrainian leader recalled the legacy of challenging Moscow and argued that helping Kiev fight was in America's national interest and a way to strengthen Eastern Europe against Russian aggression. “I’m still counting on you,” he said, after warning that “dictatorships cheer when the free world hesitates” and that delays in aid play into the hands of the Kremlin. He was now certain that nothing would come of the meeting that could “change the situation on the battlefield.”
Republican leaders in the Senate and House stood firm, emphasizing that this was not a personal matter and that they remained with him: “The national security priority is defending the U.S. border,” they agreed and supported focuses on the opinion of survey participants after the record waves of migration. Now the ball is back in the White House and Senate's court, Johnson explained, recalling that the House of Representatives had already passed an immigration bill that the Democrats did not vote for because it was too draconian. By the end of the year, when the available funds will be used up, a turnaround is impossible: Congress will now go on vacation every day for three weeks. We will talk about it again in early 2024, unless Joe Biden decides to temporarily fund Kiev at the expense of the US Army.
Meanwhile, American and Ukrainian leaders are developing a new strategy for 2024 after hopes for a counteroffensive failed to materialize, Ukraine's National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov admitted to the BBC on the day of a Russian cyberattack , which crippled the country's internet connections. The United States, which today announced further sanctions against third countries supporting the Russian war machine, has sent a three-star general, Antonio Aguto, into the field in Kiev several times from his base in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he was in January is a series of “war games,” as the New York Times writes. However, there are differences between the allies: The Americans are pushing for a conservative strategy focused on preserving Ukraine's current territory, digging trenches and accumulating supplies and forces throughout the year, as well as expanding its weapons production capacity . The Ukrainians, on the other hand, want to attack both on the ground and with long-range bombing raids and keep Crimea under fire in the hope of once again attracting the attention of a world increasingly distracted by the war in Gaza. In any case, American strategists warn, without a change in strategy, 2024 could resemble 1916, the deadliest year of the First World War.
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