Congress adjourned without approving another round of aid for Ukraine to the irritation of Sen. Mark Werner of Virginia.
The Democrat voiced his frustration on X, contending that Russia benefits from the lack of additional American funding.
“You know who is going to have the best Christmas imaginable? Vladimir Putin,” Warner wrote on the morning of Dec. 21. “Our failure to renew aid to Ukraine is a tremendous gift to him. We must get it done next year.”
Ukraine has been the top recipient of aid from the United States since Russia invaded in February of 2022. So far, the U.S. has provided over $75 billion in aid to the Eastern European nation according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. This includes military support as well as humanitarian aid. The Kiel Institute notes that Ukraine “increasingly relies” on aid from the U.S. as well as Germany and some Nordic countries.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations:Much of the aid has gone toward providing weapons systems, training, and intelligence that Ukrainian commanders need to defend against Russia, which has one of the world’s most powerful militaries. Many Western analysts say the military aid provided by the United States and other allies has played a pivotal role in Ukraine’s defense and counteroffensive against Russia. U.S. and allied leaders consider Russia’s invasion a brutal and illegal war of aggression on NATO’s frontier that, if successful, would subjugate millions of Ukrainians; encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin’s revanchist aims; and invite similar aggression from other rival powers, especially China.
Warner has been an avid supporter of Ukraine and praised the House of Representatives for passing a $40 billion aid package in May of 2022.
“The Ukrainian people are facing horrific violence inflicted by Russia. In the face of significant tragedy and loss of life, so many are fighting to repel Putin’s authoritarian campaign and preserve the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted,” said Warner in a press release. “I’m glad that the House voted to advance this critical legislation, which will provide Ukraine with critically needed humanitarian and military assistance.”
He noted he personally “pushed for $5 billion in food aid to help support the remarkable work of non-governmental organizations that are responding to this crisis on the ground by providing hot meals, food supplies, and other desperately-needed aid.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sent a letter to President Biden on Dec. 5 warning that House Republicans would not approve any more aid to Ukraine unless the federal government enacted significant and serious changes to current U.S. immigration policies. Specifically, Johnson said the Biden administration would need to make a “transformative change to our nation's border security laws,” per Fox News.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the president in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 12. During the visit, Biden announced he had signed off on $200 million of additional military aid for Ukraine. The is likely to include weapons and equipment from the Department of Defense including high-speed anti-radiation missiles, generators, anti-armor systems, artillery rounds, missiles, and demolition munitions.
