Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Joe Biden this Tuesday in Washington. He thus hopes to obtain American aid, blocked in Congress since October.
This is perhaps the last chance plea for Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president increased the number of meetings this Tuesday, in Congress and at the White House, to prevent Washington from cutting off supplies to his country at war.
US President Joe Biden said cutting US aid to Ukraine would be a “Christmas gift” to Vladimir Putinand once again called on Congress to vote on the new portion of $61 billion. “We will stand by your side”the American leader told his Ukrainian counterpart during a meeting in the Oval Office, even as Congress stumbles over the financial extension requested by the White House for Kyiv.
Democrats favor new funds. **Republicans are not totally opposed to it, but are demanding major changes to US migration policy in return for their vote.**Republican Senator Eric Schmitt, for example, said: “if you listen to people back home, they are not interested in a blank check for Ukraine when they see 12,000 people crossing our southern border, open every day”.
In Washington, Volodymyr Zelensky also visited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet its director, Kristalina Georgieva. In the process, the institution announced the payment to Ukraine of 900 million dollars (834 million euros), as part of an aid plan announced in March.