US military aid almost dried up
Hofreiter and Weber fear Kiev’s defeat
December 7, 2023, 1:18 a.m
The blockade by Republicans in Congress is causing US military aid to Ukraine to collapse dramatically. The Green Party politician Hofreiter and the EPP leader Weber are concerned about the consequences for the war. They demand that Europe must now step in to fill the gap.
In view of the massive 87 percent drop in aid to Ukraine to its lowest level since January 2022, Green politician Anton Hofreiter has called for support to be expanded immediately. “Together with our European partners, we must quickly and extensively order the weapon systems from the arms industry that we and Ukraine need to defend ourselves,” Hofreiter told the editorial network Germany (RND). “The situation is serious,” said Hofreiter. “We should be concerned that US support for Ukraine has declined earlier than expected. Now it’s even more important for Europe to do so.”
US President Joe Biden has been trying in vain since October to break a Republican blockade in Congress. It’s about $61.4 billion in aid to Ukraine, which has not yet been approved.
Again the same mistake as before Russia’s attack
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius should “stop constantly patting each other on the back for what they have achieved so far,” said Hofreiter and called for a “sober look at the situation in Ukraine.” He warned: “We are currently in danger of making the same mistakes again as before February 24, 2022. There are too many people who assume that Putin is willing to negotiate, even though there is no evidence of any.”
The EPP parliamentary group and party leader Manfred Weber is also concerned about the latest figures. “If Ukraine loses this war, there will be no peace, Putin will continue to attack us,” Weber told RND. The CSU politician pointed out that Russia is already trying to destabilize Europe. “The Finnish border is closed because Putin is using migrants as a political weapon, in the Baltics we see daily cyber attacks from Russia and in Slovakia, fake news from Putin’s empire has changed the political mood.” Weber therefore called on the heads of state and government to provide further help. “The EU summit next week must send a clear signal of support, we stand with Ukraine.”