WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden called key allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued US support for Ukraine, even as renewed political chaos in Washington placed fresh military aid in deeper jeopardy.
The US president had earlier called the leaders of key allies Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the heads of the EU and NATO, and the foreign minister of France. "Time is not our friend," Kirby told reporters. A lapse in funding would not only harm Ukraine on the battlefield but"make Putin believe that he can wait us out".
Washington has committed more than US$43 billion in military assistance to Kyiv since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Congress has approved a total of US$113 billion in aid including humanitarian help. NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg"stressed the importance of continued support to Ukraine" and added that the alliance's members were"sharing the burden equitably".
The Ukraine aid now looks set to be held hostage to US politics with just over a year until elections, as the far-right Republicans who ousted speaker McCarthy have put stopping aid to Ukraine at the top of their agenda.