“We have not waited for the [US] decision to be taken to increase our propositions to support Ukraine,” the official stated when asked about the EU’s reaction to the US Congress removing military aid for Kiev from its short-term spending bill, passed over the weekend.
E.U. makes historic show of support for Ukraine after U.S. budget deal snub
Republican divisions over aid to Kyiv have been a key sticking point in budget negotiations, despite the broad bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate to continue the support.
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All 27 European Union foreign ministers descended on Kyiv on Monday in a historic show of support following the passage of the U.S. funding bill that contained no new aid for Ukraine and left future support for the war with Russia in the balance.
The visit comes at an especially difficult time for Kyiv and its effort to oust Russian forces 19 months after the invasion, ahead of winter.
- Its touted offensive has languished despite billions of dollars worth of military aid from its Western partners, mostly from Washington.
- “By coming to Kyiv, the European Union foreign ministers sent a strong message of solidarity and support to Ukraine in the face of this unjust and illegitimate war,” Borrell said.
- “It’s also sending a strong signal to Russia — we are not intimidated by your missiles or drones,” he added. “Our resolve to support the fight for freedom and independence of Ukraine is firm and will continue.”
Russia countered with the opposite message regarding the developments in Washington.
“It is easier to abandon Ukraine,” Bondarev added, “than to lose together with Ukraine.”
- “This is the beginning of the big end for Ukraine,” Viktor Bondarev, head of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
“It is easier to abandon Ukraine,” Bondarev added, “than to lose together with Ukraine.”
On Monday, the White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House it had been in touch with allies and partners about Ukraine, and emphasized that bipartisan support for Ukraine would continue.
The U.S. has so far been Ukraine’s biggest single military backer, having pledged almost $73 billion in military, humanitarian and financial aid. But the European Union as a whole has also been a strong and reliable supporter, with about $89 billion pledged, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.
The U.S. has so far been Ukraine’s biggest single military backer, having pledged almost $73 billion in military, humanitarian and financial aid. But the European Union as a whole has also been a strong and reliable supporter, with about $89 billion pledged, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.
Despite the dispute in Washington that potentially could have a huge impact on their country, Ukrainian officials have sounded cautiously optimistic that the U.S. aid will continue to flow.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the weekend’s Congress vote “an incident.”
“We don’t feel that the U.S. support has been shattered,” he said, while greeting Borrell in Kyiv on Monday, adding that they are working with both sides of Congress to “make sure that it does not repeat again under any circumstances.”
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the weekend’s Congress vote “an incident.”
“We don’t feel that the U.S. support has been shattered,” he said, while greeting Borrell in Kyiv on Monday, adding that they are working with both sides of Congress to “make sure that it does not repeat again under any circumstances.”
...Frank Ledwidge, a senior lecturer in law and strategy at Portsmouth University in the United Kingdom and a former British military intelligence officer, said that behind the facade of calm, a growing sense of unease was surely growing in Kyiv.
“This is a harbinger of major problems to come,” he said.
“There is absolutely no guarantee anymore, as we see, that the U.S. support will continue
at anything like the same rate as it has.”
- There is also a consideration of the impact on morale, Ledwidge said, and the “slow dawning” of the strategic reality that the U.S. help is not assured, and that Ukraine may need to plan to fight with a fraction of the resources that it has now.
- For the time being, however, Ukrainian forces on the ground will not see an immediate cut in the flow of support because the counteroffensive is being fought with weapons and supplies already in the country.
And as the war stretches into the winter, Kyiv’s worry will be that 2024 will bring more opportunities for U.S. politicians to debate support for Ukraine, he added
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