Zelenskiy’s US visit fails to break gridlock in Washington over support for Ukraine

Republican leaders in the US Congress have told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy that they continue to stand with him against Russia’s “brutal invasion”.

However, there was no indication that his visit to Washington did anything to break the gridlock on Capitol Hill over the authorisation of additional support for Kyiv.

Republicans remain adamant that there can be no new funding to assist Ukraine in repelling the Russian invasion unless US president Joe Biden and his Democratic Party agree to new measures to try stem the flow of migrants across the southern border.

The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said after his meeting with Zelenskiy that his party’s first condition on any supplemental spending package “is about our own national security”. He criticised the White House over record numbers of people crossing the border.

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Republicans on Tuesday also demanded that the White House set out its strategy for Ukraine to win in its battle against Russia.

However, the reality is that Republican politicians know that support for providing aid to Ukraine has fallen as the war continues, particularly among their party’s supporters.

A Pew Research Center survey, carried out over the last fortnight, found that 48 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believed that the US was giving too much aid to Ukraine. This was up about four points since the summer.

The failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in recent months to make a definitive breakthrough and the grinding of the conflict towards a stalemate has heightened the view among some Republican supporters that US money should go to causes closer to home.

Of course, some influential figures on the right never supported Ukraine from the very beginning of the conflict.

The Biden administration is seeking an additional $60 billion in aid for Ukraine and has warned if US support falters, Russia could ultimately prevail.

Biden accused Republicans of holding military aid to Ukraine “hostage” in exchange for “an extreme partisan agenda on the border”.

He sought to embarrass them by highlighting how Republicans had been praised on Russian television for their stance on aid to Ukraine.

“This host of a Kremlin-run show said: ‘Well done Republicans, that’s good for us,’” Mr. Biden told reporters at a news conference.

“If you’re being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you’re doing. History, history will judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”

On Tuesday the Biden administration announced a package of up to $200 million in additional military aid for Ukraine. This includes additional air defence munitions and artillery ammunition. However, this was all funded under a previous authorisation.

The president stressed the urgent need for Congress to agree to provide additional support.

“We’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond in the urgent operational demands that it has. Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must, prove him wrong,” Biden said.

Biden also sought to push back against a narrative that the Ukrainian offensive was stalling. He said Ukraine had recaptured 50 per cent of the territory initially taken by Russian forces after their invasion in February 2022.

A US intelligence report given to Congress set out staggering level of losses which, it said, Russia had experienced. It maintained that more than 300,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded.

As Biden and Zelenskiy met in the White House on Tuesday afternoon, talks aimed at trying to reach a deal involving aid for Ukraine and the issue of the border continued. Although it is possible there could be a breakthrough, with the Christmas recess looming, it might be January before it is known definitively whether an agreement can be reached.

As Zelenskiy headed home, media outlets in the US pointed to what could be a subtle, but important, shift in messaging from the White House.

Biden has repeatedly stated that the US would back Kyiv for as long as it takes. However, at the press conference at the White House on Tuesday the president said the US would support Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment for “as long as we can”.

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