Ukrainian troops “prove every day that Ukraine can win” against Russia, said Volodymyr Zelensky
The Ukrainian president arrived at the White House early in the afternoon, without any guarantee for his country at war, despite long discussions in the American Congress.
“The US Congress must pass an extension for Ukraine (…) before he offers [Vladimir] Poutine the best Christmas present ever »alerted Joe Biden during a meeting with the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office.
Ukrainian troops “prove every day that Ukraine can win” against Russia, said Volodymyr Zelensky during this interview, brushing aside the doubts expressed by some after a disappointing counter-offensive by his army this summer. These doubts were notably raised by the head of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, whose camp is increasingly skeptical about new military aid to kyiv. “What the Biden administration seems to want is billions of additional dollars without adequate oversight, without any real strategy for victory”asserted the elected official after his interview with the Ukrainian head of state.
The head of the Democratic majority in the Senate, the other chamber of Congress, insisted on the challenges of aid to Ukraine. “If we lose, [Vladimir] Putin will win, and it will be very dangerous for the United States”said Chuck Schumer after seeing Volodymyr Zelensky, and as Russia claims military advances “significant” in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president, whose third visit to the American Congress since the invasion of his country by Russia in February 2022, mentioned a conversation on “friendly and frank” with the senators.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden are due, after their meeting in the Oval Office, to speak at a press conference scheduled for 4:15 p.m. local time (10:15 p.m. Paris time). In theory, elected officials only have until Friday to reach an agreement on this envelope of 61 billion dollars (56.5 billion euros). The White House has warned that it will ” short of money “ by the end of the year if nothing is done.
The Democrats are in favor of this new envelope. And the Republicans are not totally opposed to it, but they intend to link their support to a long-standing domestic political demand: a major tightening of United States immigration policy.
The Kremlin estimated on Tuesday that any new American aid was destined to “fiasco”.