US aid funds for Ukraine officially ran out this week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the press on January 3.
"We have given now Ukraine the last security assistance package that we have funds to support right before New Year's, right after Christmas. And we've got to get support from Congress so we can continue to do that," Kirby said.
Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, warned on Friday that Ukraine is running out of time and needs legislators to react urgently. Although the US Department of Defense still has some limited ability to help the Kiev regime, "that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine," Young stressed.
The Ukrainian leadership admitted on Wednesday that they have no "plan B" if US funding runs out despite previous speculations by economist Oleg Ustenko, an advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson has demanded illegal immigration issues be solved before approving new aid packages for Ukraine. On January 3, Johnson together with 60 fellow Republican lawmakers visited the Mexican border to push for stronger measures.
"If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin with defending America's national security. We want to get the border closed and secured first," Johnson underlined.
According to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, "it is no great exaggeration to say that what happens on Capitol Hill over the next few weeks could decisively shape the next phase" of the Ukrainian conflict.
The DC think tank suggests that the Senate "has never been the real obstacle" to passing the Ukrainian package, while the House remains the major battleground in this internal game of funds.
Johnson wants H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which was passed by the lower chamber last May, to be signed into law. One shouldn't underestimate the House speaker's determination as he has made it clear that he's going to risk a government shutdown to pass the bill.
But with much of the Democrat voter base in favor of liberal immigration laws, the government faction in Congress may block the legislation.
"The main takeaway is clear: Congress may well fail to pass new funding for Ukraine aid this year," believes the DC-based think tank.
"Such a possibility could force the Biden administration to make a push for negotiations to freeze the war along its current lines and find a deal that compromises on key aspects of each side’s stated goals," the institute said.
But Russia has shown no sign of wanting to "freeze" its ongoing offensives and give the Kiev regime an "operational pause" to replenish its stockpiles and replace its manpower, former Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter told Sputnik last month. However, Russia has always been open to comprehensive and meaningful dialogue to sort out the European security dilemma, including NATO non-expansion, as well as the de-militarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.
The Russian armed forces are is steadily improving its positions along the entire contact line in the special military operation zone. "I don't see Ukraine surviving too long into 2024," Scott Ritter told Sputnik's New Rules podcast in mid-December.