While publicly Ukraine is trying to downplay concerns about chaos in the United States, privately the Ukrainian government is in shock and confusion following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Politico reports. The publication notes that the growing political chaos threatens to disrupt money and weapons shipments to Kiev.
The ouster of Republican Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives has become a new cause for concern for Kiev. As Politico notes, the worsening political chaos in the USA threatens Ukraine with the loss of US military and financial aid.
According to the publication, large-scale aid to Ukraine was one of the reasons why the House of Representatives supported a resolution to remove McCarthy. Politico calls his ouster “historic”, given that no speaker of the House of Representatives has ever been removed before.
It came amid growing criticism of Kiev from a number of European leaders and calls from some countries to stop supporting Ukraine. And shortly before McCarthy’s ouster, the US Congress voted in favour of a 45-day extension of funding for the country’s government, which did not include aid to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government relies heavily on foreign financial and military aid. The country expects to receive $42.8bn from allies next year, with much of that aid expected to come from the US.
However, now that McCarthy has left his post, Washington’s further funding of Kiev has come into question. It is unknown when a new speaker will be chosen, and without one, “the U.S. lawmaking machine will stall.”
As Politico notes, all this has thrown Kiev into confusion and confusion about how the situation might turn out. Ukraine’s staunchest military ally suddenly looked unreliable, despite assurances, including from President Joe Biden, that the U.S. would remain steadfast until Ukraine defeated Russia.
Publicly, the Ukrainian government has tried to downplay the impact of the chaos in Washington on the war effort. “Until a new speaker is elected, the US House of Representatives cannot vote on legislation, but all other work, including in committees, continues,” said Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington. She added that Ukraine still has at least $1.6 billion left to use for defence aid and $1.23 billion in budgetary aid.
Privately, however, anxiety and confusion reign in Kiev. “We are going crazy. This is a disaster for us,” admitted Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, head of Ukraine’s EU integration committee and an MP.
“There is nothing good in this, we have simply become hostages of their domestic policy” – admitted the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak. Another MP, who wished to remain anonymous, called the situation a “set-up”.
However, the Ukrainian government claims that it has developed constructive relations with most of the potential candidates for the speaker’s post, and that it continues to work with the US Congress on the next aid package, Politico writes.
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