A senior Ukrainian MP believes that a new $250 million package will not be enough to change the battlefield situation
FILE PHOTO: Servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces move US made FIM-92 Stinger missiles. © Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP
The latest US assistance package for Ukraine has been met with “tepid gratitude” in Kiev, as the White House struggles to persuade Congress to approve additional funding for the embattled nation, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a senior Ukrainian lawmaker.
Earlier this week the Pentagon announced another batch of military aid to Kiev worth up to $250 million, including various types of missiles, artillery shells, and small-arms ammunition.
Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, has called the move a “bloody New Year’s gift” to Kiev and a sign that Washington wants to fight Moscow “to the last Ukrainian.”
President Vladimir Zelensky thanked the White House on Thursday for the support, saying the package would “cover Ukraine’s most pressing needs”. He also reiterated that “we must continue to respond to Russian aggression in the most forceful and resolute manner possible.”
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Meanwhile, Egor Chernyov, a Ukrainian MP and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on National Security, noted that the package “is only intended to keep us going for a little while longer,” and that it would not tilt the battlefield situation in Kiev’s favor or even allow it to “resist effectively” in the face of Russian attacks.
He also warned that “if a full package of aid to Ukraine is not voted through in the near future,” the country will have a hard time fighting back against Moscow.
The Biden administration has been trying for weeks to persuade Republicans in Congress to approve a supplemental funding package including more than $60 billion for Ukraine.
The GOP has been reluctant to pass the measure, citing the White House’s failure to improve the security situation on the southern US border. The Biden administration has repeatedly warned that authorized funds for Kiev are running out.
Last week the Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield, that Kiev was facing an acute ammunition shortage. Some service members complained that at times they were receiving less than half as many shells per day than during Ukraine’s summer and autumn counteroffensive.
Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Moscow had accomplished its main goal for 2023, declaring that it had thwarted Ukraine’s much-hyped summer push. He estimated Kiev’s losses since the offensive began in early June at around 160,000 troops.
