Ukraine Aid: Biden Warns Funding Delay Helps Putin

US President Joe Biden has warned Russia was banking on the United States abandoning Ukraine as he promised visiting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy his full support and announced $200m in weaponry to help Kyiv push out Russian Forces.

The White House said the security package could be “one of the last” if Republicans did not approve the new military aid plan, which includes about $61.4bn for Ukraine as well as support for Israel and which is currently stuck in Congress.

Biden said right-wing lawmakers’ refusal to approve the package also risked handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a “Christmas gift” of victory.

“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine,” Biden said during a press conference with Zelenskyy after talks at the White House. “We must … prove him wrong.”

Biden’s comments came as Zelenskyy went on the diplomatic offensive during his third visit to Washington, DC since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As well as meeting Biden, he aimed to appeal directly to Republican lawmakers, laying out the state of the war and Ukraine’s plans for victory in an effort to secure their support.

Republicans have sought to link the spending to new measures on the US-Mexico border but also appear to be increasingly questioning the war itself.

Zelenskyy stressed that supporting his country’s fight for its territorial integrity was about far more than Ukraine.

“For nearly two years, we’ve been in a full-scale war, the biggest since World War II, fighting for freedom,” Zelenskyy said.

“No matter what Putin tries he hasn’t won any victories.”

The Ukrainian President noted 600,000 troops were currently on the battlefield amid snow and freezing temperatures, and insisted there had been progress, notably against the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and establishing a new corridor for the safe export of Ukrainian grain.

ALJAZEERA