U.S. President Joe Biden said aid to Ukraine will continue for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued support for the war effort.
But time is running out, the U.S. president said in a warning to Congress on Sunday, which voted to pass a short-term financing package and abandon aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia to avert a government shutdown.
“Under no circumstances can we allow U.S. support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said.
“We have time, but not much, and there is an overwhelming sense of urgency,” President Joe Biden said, noting that the funding bill would only last until mid-November.
Biden urged Congress to negotiate an aid package as soon as possible.
“The vast majority of both parties — Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives — support helping Ukraine and Russia’s brutal aggression against them,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
“Stop playing games. Get this done,” Biden said, adding that he expected Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to pass a separate bill to fund Ukraine soon.
“I want to assure our American allies, the American people and the Ukrainian people that you can count on our support and we will not leave,” U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Despite Biden’s attempts to reassure Kyiv, the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine remains up in the air after a late-stage shutdown deal was struck to avert a government shutdown.
Although a compromise reached in Congress late Sunday dropped new funding for Ukraine amid opposition from hardline Republicans, it’s unclear what will happen next.
Biden and his Democrats say the United States has a responsibility to help Ukraine defend itself against an invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that failure to do so could encourage other countries to do the same in the future.
But the issue has become so politicized in Washington that the fate of vital military aid is now in jeopardy, as Kiev tries to make headway in a slow counteroffensive before winter arrives.
The United States has been a major backer of Ukraine after Russia invaded the country last year, and Biden has sought to unite the world as well as his own country to maintain that support.
During a visit to Washington last month, Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States would continue to support his war to repel Russian invaders, despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers.
Biden urged Republicans to act quickly to avoid another crisis in November.
“Brinkmanship must end, and there should be no more… crises,” U.S. President Joe Biden said, adding, “I strongly urge my Republican friends in Congress not to wait and waste time like we did all summer and pass a one-month 2020 budget agreement that respects the agreement we reached a few months ago.”
Biden declined to weigh in on whether Democrats should support McCarthy if he needs Democratic votes to retain his position as House speaker, with the US president saying he would leave the question to Democratic leaders in Congress to decide.
In response to the Russian invasion, the United States has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine, totaling approximately $113 billion, in response to the Russian invasion. Some of the funds will be used to replenish US military equipment shipped to the front line. In August, Biden called Congress provides an additional $24 billion.
aljazeera