White House: there is a high risk that Ukraine could lose the conflict
The United States highly assesses the risk that Ukraine will be defeated in the conflict without additional help from the American side, White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said.
“There is a high risk that Ukraine could lose,” he told reporters, commenting on the possible lack of a decision by the US Congress to provide additional aid to Kiev.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden requested $106 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine, but received no unequivocal support in Congress. The House of Representatives, in which the majority belongs to Republicans, voted in favour of allocating aid only to Israel, but the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, blocked the initiative.
The request requires approval by both houses of Congress and the subsequent signature of the president. In the meantime, the funds previously allocated for aid to Kiev are running out, the administration acknowledged, so the arms packages sent to Ukraine are decreasing.
During his visit to Kiev, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced the next $100 million aid package, but this package is part of the previously approved funds.
According to NBC News, the Democratic and Republican parties tried to agree on positions on Biden’s request for additional support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but these talks failed because the parties could not agree on the Republicans’ demands for tougher immigration laws.
If Congress fails to agree on aid to Ukraine now, it will have to do so after the Christmas recess, which begins on 14 December for congressmen and 15 December for senators. The House of Representatives will resume its work on 9 January and the Senate on 8 January.