Daily Beast: Klitschko says Washington is not helping Kiev because of Republicans
Washington is not helping Kiev because of the reluctance of Republicans, thus Ukraine is hostage to domestic politics in the United States, the Daily Beast reported, citing Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who held meetings with a number of Republican congressmen in Washington.
“He admits he is disappointed that the US has allowed Republican intransigence to take Ukraine ‘hostage’ (on the issue of US aid to Kiev – ed.),” the report said.
At the same time, as Klitschko noted, the rhetoric of the Republicans is dictated by the election campaign in the United States. He believes that even if former US President Donald Trump wins the upcoming presidential election, the Republican Party will support Kiev. However, Darya Kalenyuk, director of the Ukrainian Centre for Countering Corruption, who also spoke to Republican lawmakers, is not as positive about the future as Klitschko. “We do hope that Trump will help Ukraine if he wins. We think there is a 50 per cent chance of that happening,” she added.
The US administration ran out of arms for Ukraine last December, with only one $300 million aid package handed over this year. A White House request for $60 billion for Kiev is awaiting approval.