Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled a important meeting with US politicians because they couldn’t agree on how much money the US should give to Ukraine in the future.
Virtual meetings in the Senate and House were planned for Tuesday, but got called off at the last minute.
A high-ranking Ukrainian official said they might lose the war against Russia if they don’t get more help from the US.
Senate leader Chuck Schumer did not say why Mr Zelensky did not come.
The leader of the main group of Democrats in the chamber said the president of Ukraine was busy with something important at the last moment, but didn’t say what it was.
The leader of Ukraine was supposed to talk to senators through a video at a private meeting with important US officials. The meeting continued, but the talks about the aid package quickly turned into a mess.
Mr Zelensky’s top assistant, Andriy Yermak, said earlier on Tuesday that Ukraine could lose without ongoing help from the US.
“It will be hard for people to stay in the same places and survive,” he said in a speech at the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC.
Mr Yermak said things were very bad just before Mr Zelensky left.
The embassy of Ukraine in Washington DC did not quickly answer a question from the BBC asking for more information about why the cancellation happened.
It comes right after the White House asked for more help for Ukraine. The US Congress is still not close to agreeing on a plan to fund the war.
“We don’t have any money left and we are running out of time,” said Shalanda Young, the White House budget director, in a letter to Republican and Democratic leaders that was published on Monday.
She said that if Congress doesn’t give more money to Ukraine for its military by the end of the year, it would make it hard for them to fight against Russia. And there’s no extra money left to use.
On Monday, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, didn’t seem interested in giving more money, even though people were asking for billions of dollars.
“The Biden Administration has not addressed any of my conference’s valid worries about the unclear plan in Ukraine, how to solve the conflict, and how to make sure the aid from American taxpayers is used properly,” he wrote on social media.
The lack of funding is happening while fighting on the frontlines seems to have stopped making progress.
Ukraine’s planned attack in the south seems to have gotten slower, and the forces in Kyiv are having a hard time keeping control of the area they had taken on the east side of the Dnipro river.
Since the war started in February 2022, the US Congress has agreed to give more than $110 billion in military and economic help to Ukraine. The Biden administration has been saying for months that most of the money has already been given out.
Frederick Kagan, who works at the American Enterprise Institute and used to teach at the US Military Academy, says that the delays in funding are causing actual problems for Ukraine in the war. The plan to fight back against Russia is being reduced and there is uncertainty about future actions to get back the land that has been lost.
“He said that the people from Ukraine have to make a difficult decision here. ” “If they don’t think they’ll get more from the United States, then they need to save what they already have. ”
He said that the Ukrainian military needs tanks, vehicles, planes, drones, and long-range weapons. The US is the only country that can give them these things quickly and in the amounts they need in the next year.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress still mostly agree on giving more help to Ukraine, even if it’s not as much as the White House wanted. Converting the approval from Congress into laws that the president can approve has been very difficult.
The Republican and Democratic senators in the US are talking about a big $106 billion spending plan. It will help Ukraine and give military help to Israel and Taiwan. It will also give more money for security at the US-Mexico border.
However, it is this part of the package that has caused the most political upset. Democrats are hesitating to agree to new immigration rules. These changes include how people seeking asylum at the border are handled and making it harder to qualify to enter the US.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas said on TV that if we give more money to Ukraine, they have to make big changes to their border rules.
Chuck Schumer says he will try to pass a bill for military aid this week, but it’s not clear if enough Republicans will vote for it without agreeing on immigration issues.
The US media says that there was a big argument on Tuesday at a secret meeting about the help the Biden administration is giving. Senate Republicans said Democrats are not listening to their request for money to keep the border safe.
Even if the Senate approves aid to Ukraine, it’s not clear if the House of Representatives will also approve it. Speaker Johnson said he’s for giving Ukraine more money, but he voted with 117 other Republicans to stop $300 million in extra help for Ukraine.
If he brings a large aid package for a vote in the Senate and relies on Democrats to pass it, he could split the Republicans and risk losing power before budget negotiations next year.
A lady walks past a picture of a Ukrainian soldier shooting a Javelin anti-tank missile made in the US.
“The United States is expected to have a deficit of over $2. 5 trillion this year,” said Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale of Montana in an interview with BBC World Tonight’s James Coomarasamy on Tuesday.
“Why should the US take money from China and give it to Ukraine. That’s not good for us. ”
The White House is trying to get more support from Congress by offering more aid to Ukraine for its economy and national security. Ms Young wrote to Congress saying she needed money to make weapons in different factories all over the country.
“We will update important weapons and gear like Javelins made in Alabama, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems made in West Virginia, Arkansas and Texas. ” “Also, there are artillery shells made in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Iowa, and many other states,” she writes.
As the election gets closer, the White House may want members of Congress to talk about how their work is helping the economies in their districts.
Mr Kagan said he was not surprised that the US is arguing more about giving money to Ukraine as the conflict there continues for three years.
He says the American people should have their representatives talk about what America’s interests are and have a real debate about how to spend the large amount of money.
But eventually, he said the situation was obvious.
“The result of this war will mainly depend on what the Ukrainians do, but also on what the United States decides to do. “