Cap in Hand, Urgently Earnest and Hoping
"If there's anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it's just [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his secret clique.""Ukrainians haven't given up and 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.""We are using every day, every minute to give more to Ukraine, to our people -- more opportunities, more protection, more strength."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The
White House pointed to declassified intelligence indicating that
Ukraine has inflicted heavy losses on Russia in fighting that took place
recently along the Avdiivka-Novopavlivka axis, resulting in 13,000
Russian casualties and over 220 combat vehicles destroyed. This is where
the partly occupied east of Ukraine has been the centre of some of the
recent weeks fiercest battles. All of which take time, grit, casualties
of their own, and weaponry requiring replacement.
Which
led Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to another visit to Washington where
he first spoke to a defense university, where he dropped the
intelligence from Ukraine's point of view that Russia may be fighting in
Ukraine but it's "real target is freedom" in America and around the world. It certainly looks that way from any perspective, given the evidence of the past few years.
His
purpose was to issue a personal plea for Congress to resolve its
deadlock and in the process unlock roughly $60 billion scheduled in
military aid, unable to flow to Ukraine while Republican lawmakers
continue to hold up the process, pressing the Biden administration to
first tighten the southern border to put a stop to floods of migrants
entering the U.S.
Tuesday
was the day earmarked for Zelenskyy to meet with the American lawmakers
to make his case for additional military aid in view of the reality
that the Biden administration is running out of the money approved in
previous aid packages helping to repel the Russian onslaught in Ukraine.
To them, President Zelenskyy warned that his country's counteroffensive
has stalled for lack of all the weapons his military is in need of.
"As
Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the
leaders will discuss Ukraine's urgent needs and the vital importance of
the United Sates' continued support at this critical moment",
a statement delivered by White House spokeswoman Karina Jean-Pierre
stated. Even as Zelensky embarked on his trip to Washington, Moscow
targeted southern Ukraine with 18 drones, launching eight ballistic
missiles at the Kyiv region.
While
senators struggle to reach a compromise on U.S.-Mexico border policy
changes Republicans insist on, assistance to Ukraine cannot pass both
houses of Congress. "Right now, Republican demands are unreasonable", stated
lead Democratic negotiator Senator Chris Murphy; that he expects the
White House to become more engaged in the negotiations to resolve "some pretty big differences that remain".
"They
seem to be focused on how many people can we just release into the
country and tell them we'll do a hearing sometime later",
said Republican negotiator Senator James Lankford. This, while
Zelenskyy explained his country's counteroffensive wasn't able to
achieve its goals since allies failed to provide anticipated weaponry.
As a relentless ground war in eastern and southern Ukraine heads into
winter, Ukraine deals with a troop shortage, uncertainty over military
aid and divisions with the EU.
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) |
Almost
$106 billion in emergency spending was proposed by President Biden in
October, inclusive of $61 billion for assistance to Ukraine for a year
and $13.6 billion to secure the U.S. southern border. The package in
limbo, Shalanda Young, Biden's budget director stated that the US. would
run out of resources to assist Ukraine by the end of the year. "We are out of money --- and nearly out of time", she stated to congressional leaders in a letter.
"I don’t know whether he moved the needle at all.""The only thing that is really holding this up at this point is the unwillingness of the White House so far to acknowledge that they’re going to have to deal with the border component, not just to pay for the current policies, which are releasing millions of people into the interior, but actually changes in the asylum system, changes in the mass release system known as parole."Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas (post-meeting)
Prior
to his Washington trip, Zelenskyy travelled to Argentina in an effort
to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to drop objections to
the start of European Union accession talks with Ukraine. While the two
leaders spoke briefly on the sidelines of Argentinian President Javier
Milei's inauguration in Buenos Aires, Orban seems committed to blocking
$53.8 billion EU aid package for Ukraine, set to be discussed in
Brussels during the Dec.14-15 summit. "We spoke with maximum honesty clearly, about our European affairs", said Zelenskyy.
Labels: European Union, Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Counteroffensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, United States, Weapons Replacements
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