The White House is ‘anxiously’ monitoring the current round of fighting in Ukraine, US officials have told the outlet<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington\u2019s future military support for Ukraine and President Joe Biden\u2019s reputation depend largely on the outcome of Kiev\u2019s counteroffensive against Russian forces, senior American officials have told Politico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House is \u201canxiously watching\u201d Kiev\u2019s attempts to retake Russian territories, the US outlet reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the counteroffensive succeeds, Ukraine would be able to count on additional military and economic assistance from the US and its allies, but if it fails, Western support may dry up, with Kiev facing calls to find a swift diplomatic resolution to the conflict, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five US officials, who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that they weren\u2019t sure if lawmakers would vote for more aid for President Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s government when funds, approved last year, are depleted. House Republicans may use any setbacks to derail the Democrats’ efforts to boost military aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), they pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the outlet, Washington has been increasingly unhappy about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia, such as an attempted drone strike on the Kremlin in early May, and the assassinations of military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and journalist Darya Dugina. Those moves by Kiev have led to \u201cseveral private, stern admonishments in diplomatic backchannels,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political uncertainty in the US and developments on the ground in Ukraine are among \u201cmounting concerns that could sully Biden\u2019s hoped-for triumphant return to the world stage\u201d at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, the officials stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gathering in the Lithuanian capital will be a \u201ckey moment\u201d for the American leader, who\u2019ll face questions about US security guarantees for Kiev, the deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and its potential membership in NATO, Politico pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday, Biden expressed his belief that the administration will \u201chave the funding necessary to support Ukraine as long as it takes\u201d and that this support will be \u201creal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier that day, senior US officials told CNN that the AFU had suffered \u201csignificant\u201d casualties in its unsuccessful attempts to mount a counteroffensive against the Russian forces over the past week. Kiev\u2019s troops have been met with \u201cgreater than expected resistance\u201d when trying to break through Russian lines, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Ukraine has lost around 5,000 soldiers and 100 tanks in combat since Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n