Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Washington Thursday to reassure lawmakers that his country had won a 19-month war with Russia – only to face eroding support among congressional Republicans for continuing to back Kyiv’s military.
In the most unusual sign of the response, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) denied Zelensky’s request to address a joint meeting of Congress, which the Ukrainian leader last did in December.
“Zelensky asked for a joint session, but we didn’t have time. He’s already had a joint session,” McCarthy told reporters after his morning meeting with the Ukrainian president.
The Ukrainian leader’s visit to DC comes after the Biden White House asked last month that Congress approve about $24 billion in additional aid for the war-torn country, prompting dozens of Republicans to dig in behind them.
“The vast majority of Congress still does not know how much the United States has spent so far in total on this conflict,” a group of six GOP senators and 23 GOP House members wrote in a Thursday letter to the White House.
Yesterday at a secret briefing in Ukraine, it became clear that America is being asked to fund an indefinite conflict with unlimited resources.
Enough is enough. To this and future requests, my colleagues and I say: NO. pic.twitter.com/mCMh604UGp
— JD Vance (@JDVance1) September 21, 2023
“Yesterday at a secret briefing in Ukraine, it became clear that America is being asked to finance an unlimited conflict with unlimited resources. Enough is enough. To this and future requests, my colleagues and I say: NO,” Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio), who led the letter, posted on X, previously Twitter.
Zelensky, wearing his now familiar olive uniform, was escorted around the Capitol by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — with McCarthy opting not to greet the Ukrainian president on camera — and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R)-Ky. ) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Ukraine is very grateful to the House, both parties, and the entire American people for all the support. We have achieved a lot together to safeguard democracy, freedom and dignity—values shared by our two countries,” Zelensky said in a post on X after his visit to Capitol Hill.
“The people of Ukraine have suffered terribly as a result of Russian war crimes, but we have liberated more than half of the occupied territories from Russian invaders, and we can clearly see that victory is near,” he added. “In our meeting, we discussed the battlefield situation and priority defense needs, including air defense. I emphasize that a Ukrainian victory will ensure that Russia or any other dictatorship will not destabilize the free world again. To win, we must all stand together and work together.”
President Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional aid package to Ukraine.AP
Kevin McCarthy has long argued that he does not want to give a “blank check” to Ukraine.REUTERS
Ahead of his recent visit to the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launched a crackdown on corruption, including in his defense ministry.Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
McCarthy and other House Republican leaders have promised tough questions for Zelensky about when and how Ukraine plans to make a major breakthrough in its months-long counteroffensive against heavily mined Russian lines in the east.
Zelensky “admitted that it’s difficult, very difficult to overcome a strong defense,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said after the briefing. “They believe they will make slow but steady progress, but it won’t be fast.”
Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Zelensky had told House lawmakers that his forces “won,” but needed “air cover, that would be F-16s” and long-range ballistic missiles known as ATACMS.
“He needs long-range artillery to hit Crimea, where the Iranian drones are coming out. He doesn’t have that,” McCaul said. “Right now, his troops are going in without air cover… We will not send our troops into that situation. So we have to give them everything they need. If this administration won’t give it to them, then I submit that we write it into our appropriations bill. We wrote the weapons that he asked for, that this administration will not provide, we wrote that in our appropriations bill.”
McCaul brushed aside Republican opposition to provide such support, saying: “The majority of the majority support this. I know there’s some disagreement on both sides, but I said, ‘A war of division is not going to win this.’ And that’s it [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants it because he wants to break the will of the American and European people. We cannot afford a divisive war. We need a plan to win.”
The White House has delayed the delivery of Ukraine’s F-16s for months, while national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday afternoon that the US would not provide Kyiv with ATACMS at this time.
Further aid for Ukraine is in jeopardy as lawmakers try to avert a government shutdown, which will begin at 11:59pm on September 30.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a frequent ally of the speaker, has rejected additional funding for the war-torn country.Getty Images
A key demand among hardline House GOP rebels is that any stopgap spending avoid additional aid to Ukraine.
This created complications with the Senate, where both Schumer and McConnell favor more aid.
In the White House letter, 29 Republican opponents asked for answers to several important questions.
“How did the counterattack happen? Is Ukraine closer to victory than 6 months ago? What is our strategy, and what is the president’s exit plan? What does the administration define as a victory in Ukraine? … It is an absurd abdication of congressional responsibility to grant this request without knowing the answers to these questions.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Congress has appropriated more than $113 billion in both military and humanitarian support to the war-torn country.
Kevin McCarthy’s chief antagonist, Matt Gaetz, has made it clear that he is strongly opposed to funding Ukraine. Reuters
About $70 billion of that was authorized for security assistance, about 90% of which was donated.
The $24 billion request by the White House includes $13 billion in security assistance and about $7.3 billion in economic support.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine Thursday to coincide with Zelensky’s visit to DC.
President Biden is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Ukraine’s neighbor and ally Poland recently opted to halt arms supplies to the besieged country amid a dispute over grain prices.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the policy change on Wednesday while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“Should we act to protect ourselves from being harmed by the drowning man?” Polish President Andrzej Duda told reporters.
“Of course we must act to protect ourselves from the drowning man who causes us injury, for if the drowning man causes us harm and drowns us, he will get no help.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
