Key topics during Zelensky’s visit would include defence cooperation between the US and Ukraine, “particularly through joint projects on the production of weapons and air defence systems, as well as the coordination of efforts between our countries in the coming year,” Zelensky’s office said.
Democrats and the Biden administration have warned for weeks that holding up the president’s request for US$106 billion in emergency funds, which includes arming Israel and Ukraine as well as border security proposals, plays into the hands of US adversaries.
Earlier on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition and also called for quick congressional approval of the foreign aid.
Blinken said the needs of Israel’s military operations in Gaza justify the rare decision to bypass Congress. “Israel is in combat right now with Hamas,” he said during television interviews. “And we want to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Hamas.”
The tank ammunition and related support constitute only a small portion of military sales to Israel, Blinken said, and that the rest remains subject to congressional review. “It’s very important that Congress’ voice be heard in this,” he said.
Blinken noted that Biden has said he is willing to make significant compromises to get the aid package moving. “It’s something the president is fully prepared to engage on,” Blinken said.
How Biden’s foreign and trade policy flip-flops are confusing US allies
How Biden’s foreign and trade policy flip-flops are confusing US allies
The stakes are especially high for Ukraine, Blinken said, given that “we are running out of funding ” for the Ukrainians.
“This is a time to really step up because if we don’t, we know what happens. Putin will be able to move forward with impunity and we know he won’t stop in Ukraine.”
Senator Mitt Romney said there is bipartisan agreement that something has to be done to address record numbers of migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico.
“We want to solve that, to secure the border. I just saw the president of the United States say that we’ve got to secure the border. He’s right. So, any effort that doesn’t do that will be rejected by Republicans,” Romney said.
04:28
Ukraine’s leader says Nato summit end a ‘big positive’ despite no timeline for Kyiv membership
Ukraine’s leader says Nato summit end a ‘big positive’ despite no timeline for Kyiv membership
Congress already has allocated US$111 billion to help Ukraine, and Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, said in a letter this past week to House and Senate leaders that the US will run out of funding to send weapons and help to Ukraine by the end of the year, which would “kneecap” Ukraine on the battlefield.
But Senator JD Vance said the administration has yet to justify additional aid to Ukraine. “So what we’re saying to the president and really to the entire world is, you need to articulate what the ambition is. What is US$61 billion going to accomplish that US$100 billion hasn’t?” Vance said.
Senator Chris Murphy said the money would make a difference because Russia is struggling to fund its war effort. “It can change the outcome of this war,” Murphy said. “Because at the very same time that we are making a renewed commitment to Ukraine, Russia’s ability to continue to fight this war is in jeopardy.”
Romney said he also supports the aid to Ukraine. “My own view is that it’s very much in America’s interest to see Ukraine successful and to provide the weapons that Ukraine needs to defend itself. Anything other than that would be a huge dereliction of our responsibility, I believe, to the world of democracy but also to our own national interest,” he said.
Blinken appeared on ABC’s This Week and CNN’s State of the Union. Romney and Murphy were on NBC’s Meet the Press. Vance was on CNN.
Ukraine’s Zelensky heads to Argentina, hoping to win Global South’s support
Ukraine’s Zelensky heads to Argentina, hoping to win Global South’s support
Milei, who has said he intends to convert to Judaism, presented his Ukrainian counterpart with a menorah as a gift. They were expected to have a longer one-on-one meeting later in the day.
A political outsider who has railed against what he calls entrenched official corruption in Argentina and promised to uproot the political establishment, Milei ran on a pro-Western foreign policy platform, repeatedly expressing distrust of Moscow and Beijing.
Zelensky phoned Milei shortly after the Argentinian’s electoral victory, thanking him for his “clear support for Ukraine” which he described in social media posts as “well-noticed and appreciated by Ukrainians.”
In its readout of the call published shortly afterwards, Milei’s office said he had offered to host a summit between Ukraine and Latin American states, a potential boon to Kyiv’s months-long effort to strengthen its relationships with countries of the global south,
Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials have repeatedly presented Ukraine’s war against Russia as resistance against colonial aggression, hoping to win support from Asian, African and Latin American states that in the past struggled to free themselves from foreign domination, sometimes turning to Moscow for support against Western powers.
Zelensky used the trip to Argentina to meet leaders of several developing countries. He met the prime minister of the West African country of Cabo Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, on his way to Buenos Aires. Once in Argentina, Zelensky met separately with the presidents of Paraguay, Ecuador and Uruguay, his office said.
He also had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, discussing “the details of the next defence package from the French Republic, which will significantly enhance Ukraine’s firepower, and the current needs of our country in armaments,” Zelensky’s office said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg