Biden tells Washington-visiting Zelensky not to lose hope

by Patricia Zengerle, Richard Cowan and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky on Tuesday not to lose hope in his fight against Russia’s invasion last year, as Zelensky visited Washington with the goal of convincing American officials to help Kyiv more.

Elected officials from the Republican Party have displayed their skepticism regarding the Ukrainian president’s demands. The joint envelope requested by Democrat Joe Biden for tens of billions in additional security aid to Ukraine and Israel has still not been approved by Congress.

Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the peer-controlled House of Representatives, said it was necessary for the Biden administration to provide clarity on how the funds would be used.

“The Biden administration appears to be asking for billions of dollars more without proper oversight, without a clear strategy to win, and without any of the answers the American people are entitled to,” he said after speaking with Volodimir Zelensky. .

Joe Biden reassured his Ukrainian counterpart of Washington’s support, declaring that he would not let Kyiv fall, while warning elected representatives of Congress of the risk of allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to win.

“Putin is banking on the fact that the United States will fail Ukraine,” the American president said during a joint press conference with Volodimir Zelensky. “We must (…) prove him wrong,” he added.

A little earlier, at the start of a meeting in the Oval Office, Joe Biden promised Volodimir Zelensky that the United States would continue “to be at your side”, urging Congress to approve the aid he is requesting under penalty of offering Vladimir Putin “the best Christmas present” he could hope for.

EMERGENCY

Dressed in a black sweater and olive green pants, Volodimir Zelensky said Ukraine was making progress toward becoming less and less dependent on aid, also expressing gratitude to the United States for strengthening its defenses. Ukrainian airlines.

He also estimated that Kyiv’s resistance to the Russian offensive had had a positive effect for other European nations. “Thanks to Ukraine’s successes (…), other European countries are protected from Russian aggression,” the Ukrainian leader said.

On the second day of his trip to Washington, Volodimir Zelensky was greeted with loud applause upon his arrival at the Capitol for a closed-door meeting with senators. He was accompanied by Chuck Schumer, Democratic leader in the Senate, and Mitch McConnell, his Republican alter ego.

Some Republicans, particularly those close to former President Donald Trump, are opposed to sending additional aid to Ukraine. They condition any new aid on measures relating to immigration in the United States.

Other elected officials from the Republican Party questioned the interest in new aid to Kyiv given the little progress noted in the counter-offensive launched last June to retake territories controlled from Russia since the launch of its invasion in February 2022.

The White House informed Congress on December 4 that the government would not have the funds to provide more weapons to Ukraine after the end of the year.

Congress has approved more than $110 billion in civilian and military aid for Ukraine since the war began, but no new funding since Republicans took the majority in the House of Representatives last January.

There are only three days left in Congress to vote on the $61.4 billion in aid requested by the White House before it suspends its work for the end-of-year holidays.

(Reporting Patricia Zengerle, Richard Cowan and Trevor Hunnicutt, with Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, David Morgan and Doina Chiacu; French version Tangi Salaün and Jean Terzian)