The United States is running out of time and money to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, White House officials warned congressional leaders on Monday.
In October, Joe Biden’s administration asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to finance ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security.
Congress must decide whether to continue “supporting the fight for freedom in Ukraine” or “ignore the lessons we have learned from history and let Putin prevail,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.
“A vote against supporting Ukraine is a vote to improve Putin’s strategic position. This is just an inevitable reality”, he added.
White House Budget Director Shalanda Young warned in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders released Monday that cutting funding and the flow of weapons to Ukraine would increase the likelihood of a Russian victory.
“I want to be clear: without parliamentary action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to buy more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and provide equipment for the US military stockpiles,” Young said.
“There is no magic funding potion at this time. We are out of money, and almost out of time,” she warned.
Republicans control the House by a slim majority, and financing Ukraine has become a contentious issue for some right-wing lawmakers.
Congress has already approved more than 110 billion euros for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. However, it has not made new contributions since the Republicans took control of the Chamber in January this year.
Both the House and Senate approved in December 2022 a $45 billion package of military, financial and humanitarian assistance for Ukrainians as part of a broader spending bill.
Johnson said on social media that the Biden administration “failed to substantially address” Republican concerns about the Ukraine strategy. Additionally, he highlighted that any national security package needs to include money for border security.
“We believe that both issues can be reached by agreement if the Senate Democrats and the White House negotiate in a reasonable way”, pondered the leader on the X platform, formerly called Twitter.
As of mid-November, the U.S. Department of Defense had spent 97 percent of the $62.3 billion in supplemental aid it received from the State Department and all $4.7 billion from a military assistance fund, Young noted.
Source: CNN Brasil
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