Biden called on Congress to approve aid to Kyiv before Christmas

US President Joe Biden addressed Congress on Wednesday. He demanded that the Congress approve further financing of aid to Ukraine in the near future – before the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

Biden said that the coordination of aid to Kyiv cannot wait. He emphasized that without a decision by the US, the decision-making process to support Ukraine by other allies – European countries, Japan and other partners – may be in question.

The US president emphasized that his country cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to win in Ukraine. He is confident that in the event of Russia’s victory, it will not stop at Ukraine and will be able to attack other countries that are allies of the United States, including those that are members of NATO. “In that case, we can come to the fact that American troops will fight with Russian troops,” Biden said.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the US will soon give Ukraine a new package of military aid in the amount of 175 million dollars. However, the parliament has yet to approve or reject the military aid budget for the next hour.

In October, President Biden sent a request to the Congress for financing the supply of weapons and other aid to Ukraine and Israel in the total amount of 105 billion dollars, of which more than 60 billion were supposed to go to Ukraine.

The House of Representatives, which is under the control of the Republicans, approved the bill on the allocation of money to Israel, but not to Ukraine, after which the Democrats blocked the document in the Senate. On Monday, White House Budget Director Shalanda Young sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and reported that the US administration will run out of funds for the supply of weapons and equipment to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Yesterday, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, at the last moment canceled his speech before the members of the American Senate. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, speaking at the US Peace Institute in Washington, called on Congress to adopt the aid package for Ukraine as soon as possible. He said that the delay in the provision of military aid to Kyiv by the United States increases the risk of Ukraine’s defeat in a war with Russia. “It will be difficult for us to stay in the same positions and simply survive,” he added.

On Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke via video link to the leaders of the Group of Seven. He said that if Ukraine’s allies continue to show solidarity and support, Ukraine has every chance to preserve its energy infrastructure in the winter and ensure a successful counteroffensive. “Russia hopes for only one thing – that next year the consolidation of the world will collapse, and believes that America and Europe will show weakness and will not maintain support for Ukraine at the proper level,” he said.