White House hopes for return of US leadership in support of Ukraine
The White House hopes that the United States will regain leadership in supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression.
"We're hopeful — still hopeful, the President is, that we're able to get this supplemental funding and we can go back to being the world's leader in supporting Ukraine," John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, said, speaking to journalists on board Air Force One.
Asked how the US President's Administration perceives the fact that some European leaders are more pessimistic about Washington's assistance to Kyiv, Kirby said that "you can hardly blame them when they look at what's going on" in Congress.
"You can hardly blame other leaders around the world from thinking about what other decisions they have to make now based on the uncertainty that the United States is going to be able to come through," he said.
As Kirby said, this shows that American leadership matters.
"I think other leaders in Europe and elsewhere can be forgiven for working through in their own minds how they're going to be able to support Ukraine should the United States not be able, thanks to what's going on on Capitol Hill, to be able to continue that support," Kirby concluded.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the situation regarding the stopping of US aid to Ukraine has had a certain impact on the battlefield.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated his confidence that the US Congress would approve additional funding for Ukraine despite the differences between the two parties on the issue of migration.
Prior to that, the US had stated that it was necessary to make a decision on assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible, as the next few months would be critical.
Key aides to US President Joe Biden have warned Congress during a closed-door meeting that Ukraine would face considerable challenges at the front if no additional military aid is approved.