The US State Department has responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's words that the US will not "betray Ukraine" and will provide the promised assistance.
How the USA reacted to Zelenskyy's words
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing that the executive branch absolutely supports Ukraine. They are also absolutely ready to support additional funding for our country.
We have one package left that we can provide to Ukraine this year, and after that we will have exhausted our capacity to provide additional security assistance, so I think this is a question for the US Congress, he said.
According to him, the US executive branch has "made it clear" that it is seeking to provide additional assistance to Ukraine.
Miller noted that Congress should make a decision on Ukraine by the end of the year, as a difficult winter is ahead.
We want it (the US President's request - ed.) to be adopted by the end of this year. This remains our goal and our priority. Congress will have to decide whether it will stand with Ukraine and provide the funding necessary to counter Russian invasion as we head into what we expect to be a very difficult winter, or whether it has no plans to do so, the Pentagon spokesman said.
Miller added that the administration of US President Joe Biden does not have a "magic solution" in case the aid to Ukraine runs out.
He also noted that funding sources will run out in the next few weeks, "so Congress must act".
What is known about US financial assistance to Ukraine
In October of this year, the US President Joe Biden asked Congress for more than $106 billion for national security needs. This includes new funding for military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of over $61 billion.
However, on 6 December, the US Senate blocked the start of debate on the military aid package. The reason for this was the Republican Party's demand that the bill include a tougher set of measures to protect the southern border with Mexico.
Republicans and Democrats began negotiations to reach a compromise on the allocation of funds for military aid to Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the US Senate decided to continue its work until the Christmas recess.
The US Senate believes that the decision to allocate aid to Ukraine will be made no earlier than January 2024.
The last working day of the Senate is 14 December. Both houses of the US Congress will resume work on 9 January 2024.
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