https://sputnikglobe.com/20231216/zelenskys-tone-deaf-dc-trip-leaves-republicans-wishing-hed-never-come-1115622795.html
Zelensky's Tone Deaf DC Trip Leaves Republicans Wishing He'd Never Come
Zelensky's Tone Deaf DC Trip Leaves Republicans Wishing He'd Never Come
Sputnik International
Ukraine’s president traveled to the US capital last week to speak with President Biden and other officials in an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional US taxpayer dollars for the proxy war against Russia. Just how impactful the trip was remains unclear, given that the House of Representatives has now adjourned for the Christmas holidays.
2023-12-16T11:38+0000
2023-12-16T11:38+0000
2023-12-16T12:49+0000
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Some Republicans reportedly couldn’t help but feel irritated by Volodymyr Zelensky’s two-day visit to Washington this week, privately telling media that the Ukrainian president did more harm than good for his cause by meddling in American politics, and wishing that he’d stayed home.Republican lawmakers are seeking to hammer out a deal with the White House to revamp border policy to more closely resemble that of President Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, in exchange for approval of the new money for Ukraine, although weeks of wrangling have apparently yet to yield a compromise.Some Republicans reportedly took issue with Zelensky’s approach during his trip, accusing him of trying to paint them as being "soft on Russia" over their effort to focus on domestic priorities.Another anonymous Republican aide said that the Biden administration has deliberately sought to minimize contacts between officials in Kiev and Congressional Republicans, presumably in a bid to prevent the further exacerbation of tensions among the faction of the GOP that’s growing increasingly resistant to shelling out more for cash on Ukraine.It’s unclear what sparked the disconnect, although it was in May of 2022 that 57 House Republicans and 11 GOP senators voted against a $40 billion supplemental aid package, with that number rising to 70 House lawmakers this past July in a proposed amendment to the annual defense bill to cut off all military aid to Ukraine. The measure failed, and the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 includes $300 million in annual “security assistance” to Ukraine through the end of 2026. However, that’s just a fraction of the $61.4 billion supplemental request by the Biden administration.But Republican concerns about continuing to foot the bill for Ukraine aid apparently aren’t limited to the party’s anti-interventionist MAGA wing, reports suggest, with “even the most rock-ribbed Reagan Republicans” reportedly feeling that “they’ve been bearing most of the political costs” in sending taxpayer money to Ukraine, all “without any political concessions for their party.”The House adjourned for the year this week and began its winter holiday break without reaching a deal with the Senate on Biden’s $105 billion spending package, although a pro-forma session will be held next Tuesday. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate would remain in session next week to vote on the supplemental funding request, with the White House urging lawmakers to stay in Washington until Ukraine aid was passed. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson informed his Senate counterpart that his priority is to secure America’s borders before those of a foreign nation.The Biden administration has assured that enough money remains in the existing drawdown authority for the Pentagon to continue weapons transfers to Kiev for several more weeks. Some Republican lawmakers believe the DoD can continue to quietly take arms from US stocks and send them east even if appropriations ran out.But officials aren’t as nonchalant in Kiev. “We don’t have that time,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova said. “We already are running out of munitions. And they [Russia] know that. Besides, a lot of our munitions ended up in Israel. We literally cannot afford an extra month without the support,” the lawmaker said, adding that she felt Kiev is “being played by both parties.”Ustinova’s sentiments have been echoed by senior Ukrainian officials, with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk warning Saturday that the government will have difficulties fulfilling its social and humanitarian obligations next year due to a ballooning budget deficit.Ukraine depends on foreign aid for as much as 70 percent of its expenditures, and has seen its debts skyrocket over the past year-and-a-half. With US lawmakers wrangling over Ukraine aid, European officials have similarly shown faltering enthusiasm toward the idea of pumping their citizens’ money into the conflict, with Hungary blocking a €50 billion ($55 billion US) macro-financial aid package for Kiev on Friday.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231216/week-of-disappointment-western-media-admits-ukraine-and-zelensky-losing-ground-1115617993.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231215/us-house-starts-holiday-break-without-deal-on-supplemental-funding-border-security-1115609941.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231216/ukraine-on-brink-of-humanitarian-collapse-authorities-admit-1115617784.html
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zelensky in washington, zelensky begging in washington, how much has ukraine asked from us
zelensky in washington, zelensky begging in washington, how much has ukraine asked from us
Zelensky's Tone Deaf DC Trip Leaves Republicans Wishing He'd Never Come
11:38 GMT 16.12.2023 (Updated: 12:49 GMT 16.12.2023) Ukraine's president traveled to the US capital to speak with President Joe Biden and other officials in an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional US taxpayer dollars for the proxy war against Russia. Just how impactful the trip was remains unclear, given that the House of Representatives has now adjourned for the Christmas holidays.
Some Republicans reportedly couldn’t help but feel irritated by Volodymyr Zelensky’s two-day visit to Washington this week, privately telling media that the Ukrainian president did more harm than good for his cause by meddling in American politics, and wishing that he’d stayed home.
“Zelensky’s visit…was not good. It was completely tone-deaf and missed the point and the issues that are really at the heart of the current funding disputes,” a Republican congressional aide said, referring to the ongoing battle over a $105 billion supplemental funding request by the Biden administration, which includes over $61.4 billion for Ukraine, plus resources to shore up the US border with Mexico.
Republican lawmakers are seeking to hammer out a deal with the White House to revamp border policy to more closely resemble that of President Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, in exchange for approval of the new money for Ukraine, although weeks of wrangling have apparently yet to yield a compromise.
“It would have been better if [Zelensky] had just not come in the broader supplemental fight. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get over this,” the aide said.
Some Republicans reportedly took issue with Zelensky’s approach during his trip, accusing him of trying to paint them as being "soft on Russia" over their effort to focus on domestic priorities.
Another anonymous Republican aide said that the Biden administration has deliberately sought to minimize contacts between officials in Kiev and Congressional Republicans, presumably in a bid to prevent the further exacerbation of tensions among the faction of the GOP that’s growing increasingly resistant to shelling out more for cash on Ukraine.
16 December 2023, 09:07 GMT
“The ability for Republicans to talk to the Ukrainians at very senior levels is very limited. What you’re seeing is 18 month of that policy coming home to roost, where senior Ukrainian officials have no real engagement with any Republicans in the House or the Senate,” the aide said.
It’s unclear what sparked the disconnect, although it was in May of 2022 that
57 House Republicans and
11 GOP senators voted against a $40 billion supplemental aid package, with that number rising to
70 House lawmakers this past July in a proposed amendment to the annual defense bill to cut off all military aid to Ukraine. The measure failed, and the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
includes $300 million in annual “security assistance” to Ukraine through the end of 2026. However, that’s just a fraction of the $61.4 billion supplemental request by the Biden administration.
But Republican concerns about continuing to foot the bill for Ukraine aid apparently aren’t limited to the party’s anti-interventionist MAGA wing, reports
suggest, with “even the most rock-ribbed Reagan Republicans” reportedly feeling that “they’ve been bearing most of the political costs” in sending taxpayer money to Ukraine, all “without any political concessions for their party.”
The House adjourned for the year this week and began its winter holiday break without reaching a deal with the Senate on Biden’s $105 billion spending package, although a pro-forma session will be held next Tuesday. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate would remain in session next week to vote on the supplemental funding request, with the White House urging lawmakers to stay in Washington until Ukraine aid was passed. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson informed his Senate counterpart that his priority is to secure America’s borders before those of a foreign nation.
15 December 2023, 16:42 GMT
The Biden administration has assured that enough money remains in the existing drawdown authority for the Pentagon to continue weapons transfers to Kiev for several more weeks. Some Republican lawmakers believe the DoD can continue to quietly take arms from US stocks and send them east even if appropriations ran out.
But officials aren’t as nonchalant in Kiev. “We don’t have that time,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova said. “We already are running out of munitions. And they [Russia] know that. Besides, a lot of our munitions ended up in Israel. We literally cannot afford an extra month without the support,” the lawmaker said, adding that she felt Kiev is “being played by both parties.”
Ustinova’s sentiments have been echoed by senior Ukrainian officials, with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk
warning Saturday that the government will have difficulties fulfilling its social and humanitarian obligations next year due to a ballooning budget deficit.
16 December 2023, 07:58 GMT
Ukraine depends on foreign aid for as much as
70 percent of its expenditures, and has seen its debts skyrocket over the past year-and-a-half. With US lawmakers wrangling over Ukraine aid, European officials have similarly shown faltering enthusiasm toward the idea of pumping their citizens’ money into the conflict, with Hungary
blocking a €50 billion ($55 billion US) macro-financial aid package for Kiev on Friday.
