Pleading with the Republicans, President Joe Biden on December 6, proposed a fresh infusion of military aid for Ukraine. He cautioned that a victory of Russia over Ukraine would leave Moscow in a position to claw at other NATO allies which holds the looming potential of drawing US troops into a war.
Biden spoke as the United States planned to announce additional aid of $175 million to Ukraine from its dwindling supply of money. He hinted at the willingness to make significant changes to US migration policy along the border with Mexico to try to attract Republican support.
“If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” Biden said. He predicts that Russia will attack a NATO ally which will put America in a sticky situation.
“We’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today: American troops fighting Russian troops,” Biden added.
However, Senate Republicans later on December 6 paused the Democratic-backed legislation that would have funnelled billions of dollars in new security assistance for Ukraine and Israel, among other international concerns, saying they wanted to press their point about the importance of tighter border policy.
The White House warned this week about the US sitting on a ticking clock with limited time and money to help Ukraine withstand Russia’s invasion.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, in a phone interview with Reuters about building up Ukraine’s defence industrial base, said the US is still in line with its initial and long-held position of not pressuring Ukraine to enter into negotiations with Russia.
“That’s going to have to be up to them. We’re just going to keep fighting day in and day out to try to secure this money,” Sullivan said.
“We’re going to keep making the case that it would be a historic mistake for the United States to walk away from Ukraine at this moment and we believe that argument will ultimately penetrate and prevail,” he said.
Sullivan further informed that Biden is prepared to have “reasonable, responsible discussions to produce a bipartisan outcome on border policy and border sources.”
By mid-November, the US Defense Department had used 97 per cent of $62.3 billion in supplemental funding it had received and the State Department had used all of the $4.7 billion in military assistance funding it had been allocated, US budget director Shalanda Young said this week.
A US official divulged information about Washington having less than $1 billion in “replenishment authority.” This translates to the fact that if Congress does not provide new funds to buy replacement equipment, the US, Ukraine and arms makers may have to take other steps to backfill stocks.
Border security with Mexico is a crucial issue, relying on which are the negotiations of Ukraine and Israel funding.
House and Senate Republicans are backing renewed construction of a border wall, former President Donald Trump’s signature goal, while deeming large numbers of migrants ineligible for asylum and reviving a controversial policy under which asylum seekers are told to remain in Mexico while their immigration case is heard.
Biden said he was willing to make “significant” compromises on the border issue but said Republicans will not get everything they want. He did not provide details.
“This has to be a negotiation,” he said.
Biden, who had discussed Ukraine in a virtual summit with G7 leaders earlier on December 6, said US allies are gearing up to continue supporting Ukraine in its 22-month war to repel Russian invaders.
“Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to an extreme partisan border policy,” said Biden.
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