Zelensky makes 11th hour plea for Ukraine funds in Washington

WASHINGTON - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Dec 12 to make a last-ditch plea to keep military support flowing as he battles Russia, though he was likely to face a sceptical reception from many Republicans.

Wearing a black shirt and olive drab trousers, Mr Zelensky was met with sustained applause as he arrived for a closed-door meeting with US senators.

He was accompanied by Senator Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, and Senator Mitch McConnell, the top Republican.

Heading into winter, with tens of thousands of Ukrainians dead, a yawning budget deficit and Russian advances in the east, Mr Zelensky is asking Washington to provide badly needed military and humanitarian aid.

Ukraine’s President was due to meet privately with House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

He will then head to the White House, where he and President Joe Biden would hold a news conference at 4.15pm (5.15am Singapore time on Dec 13).

The White House told Congress on Dec 4 that the US would no longer have funding to provide more weapons for Ukraine after the end of 2023.

Congress has approved more than US$110 billion (S$148 billion) for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, but it has not approved any funds since Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January. 

Mr Johnson, a Republican, has said lawmakers need more detail on the administration’s objectives in Ukraine.

His fellow Republicans have said any further aid must be paired with changes to immigration policy – an exceptionally divisive issue in American politics.

Mr Johnson on Dec 12 said he was waiting for the White House to respond.

“There’s no return volley,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. He also demanded that Mr Biden get directly involved in negotiations on the Bill, saying that it was “far, far overdue”.

“Let me be frank with you, friends. If there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it’s just (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his sick clique,” Mr Zelensky said at a speech in Washington on Dec 11 to a US military audience.

“We won’t give up. We know what to do, and you can count on Ukraine. And we hope just as much to be able to count on you.”

Newly declassified US intelligence shows that “Russia seems to believe that a military deadlock through the winter will drain Western support for Ukraine” and ultimately give Russia the advantage, said Ms Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

Ukraine is having success stopping Russian forces, but Mr Putin is continuing to order his troops forward despite heavy losses of soldiers and equipment since October, she added.

There are just three days before Congress recesses for the year on Dec 15, and House Republicans have until now refused to pass a spending package Bill that contains US$61.4 billion in Ukraine aid without fiercely disputed changes to US immigration.

Senate Republicans expressed dwindling hopes that they can reach an immigration deal with Democrats and pass the supplemental package this week.

“I’m becoming increasingly pessimistic,” Senator Susan Collins, the top Republican on spending, told reporters.

Mr Biden has cast the situation in stark terms, saying “history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause”.

Ultimately, US troops could be forced to fight Russia, Mr Biden and others warn, if an unchecked Mr Putin invades a European ally covered by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s mutual defence commitments.

Bolstered by billions of US military aid, as well as US intelligence, Ukraine was able to fend off Russia’s initial attempt to sweep the country and roll Russian forces back in key towns.

But Kyiv failed to break through Russian defensive lines in a major counter-offensive push in 2023 and Russia is now on the offensive in the east.

Both the war and immigration issues are expected to be lightning-rod issues ahead of the 2024 US presidential and congressional elections. REUTERS