Zelensky tells Congress Ukraine is alive and kicking

Posted at 17:14 21 Dec17:14 21 Dec

A high-profile effort to stay on the US agenda

Anthony Zurcher

North America correspondent

Over the course of this year, Congress has approved approximately $67bn (£55.4bn) in military and economic assistance to Ukraine. A 2023 spending package that Congress is poised to pass this week includes an additional $45bn in Ukraine aid.

Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Wednesday is an effort, in part, to ensure that US aid keeps flowing.

This is becoming more of a challenge, though. In May, 57 Republicans in the 435-seat House of Representatives and 11 in the 100-seat Senate voted against a $40bn stand-alone aid package, and polls indicate Republican support for continued assistance has eroded since.

In a survey conducted in November, just over half of Republican voters supported aid to Ukraine – down from 80% in March. Some Republicans on the midterm elections campaign trail last month openly wondered why the US was spending so much money on a distant country instead of funding border security and fighting crime at home.

Prospective House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has already expressed concern about any further “blank cheques” for Ukraine. And there was public incredulity among some Republicans in Congress when Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that Ukraine aid was the “number one priority” for his party.

Zelensky doesn’t need further aid to Ukraine to be at the top of Republicans to-do list in the new year, but his trip to Washington is a high-profile effort to ensure that it doesn’t drop off the agenda entirely.