“Great danger”: Without new US arms supplies, Ukraine will lose the battle. The US introduces entry restrictions for extremist settlers

On Tuesday, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in Washington of an end to US financial aid. Without new weapons and financial aid from the US, Ukraine runs the “great risk” of losing the war against the Russian military, Andriy Yermak said during a panel discussion. “It would be impossible” to achieve the Ukrainian government’s goal of liberating all occupied and annexed territories.

Never before has a Ukrainian government representative in the American capital spoken so clearly publicly about the consequences of cutting off billions in aid from the American treasury. Yermak is in Washington with a delegation from Kiev that wanted to meet high-ranking lawmakers in parliament and hold talks with representatives of the US defense industry.

Zelenskyj remained in Ukraine; However, his agenda for Tuesday included a video conference with Democratic and Republican senators. This appearance should also serve the purpose of releasing blocked financial resources.

Impasse between Democrats and Republicans

However, Zelensky has lost much of his persuasiveness in Washington. The people’s representatives appear to be fed up with his government’s warnings about a victory for Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. The White House’s indication that the loans approved so far for Ukraine – more than $100 billion – will be fully used by the end of this month has not yet led to a reconsideration.

In any case, a test vote in Washington on a new $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, which would also include funds for Israel and Taiwan, is expected to fail in the Senate on Wednesday.

The main reason for this impasse: Republicans, who are the minority in the Senate but the majority in the House of Representatives, want to force Democrats to make concessions on immigration policy. Given the crisis at the border with Mexico, Republicans want to tighten immigration laws.

This can be read in a letter to the White House published on Tuesday by Chairman Mike Johnson. In it, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives stated for the first time that a yes to a new aid package for Ukraine “depends” on an asylum compromise.

That is out of the question for President Joe Biden’s Democrats. They have indicated they might support a compromise on immigration reform. The fact that 2.5 million migrants have been apprehended by the US Border Patrol in the past twelve months worries many of Biden’s party members. But Democrats don’t want to be blackmailed, as Senator Chris Murphy said.

Yermak still believes in a Ukrainian victory

Zelensky’s adviser Yermak, in turn, reiterated during his appearance in Washington that a victory for Ukraine on the battlefield was obvious. “We have a concrete plan,” said Jermak, who is backed by the civilian and military leadership.

In doing so, he also indirectly contradicted rumors that the house blessing between Zelensky and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valeri Salushni, would go wrong. Yermak spoke out strongly against peace talks with Moscow. The past shows that such negotiations are pointless because Russia only wants to buy time.

The presidential adviser described Russian forces as battered; However, Putin will do everything he can to give the impression that the Ukrainian armed forces are on the defensive before the Russian presidential elections next spring. The US and Europe must do everything in their power to ensure this does not happen. (aargauerzeitung.ch)