U.S. not sending more aid would leave Ukraine ‘certain to fail’ and facing possible defeat by the summer, Western intelligence agencies warn
- A Western official said Ukraine would only last a few months without U.S. and NATO support
- Biden's $61 billion relief package has stalled; Speaker Johnson sent House home
- According to the report, Ukraine is rationing ammunition
Cutting U.S. military support to Ukraine could have catastrophic consequences for the country's defense against Russian invasion forces, with the country “certain to fail,” Western military and intelligence officials said.
A senior US military official said Kiev could survive for only a few months if US and NATO military support dried up, with a possible defeat of Ukraine's vaunted military forces by the summer. CNN reported.
The official described such a defeat as a worst-case scenario, with Ukrainian and Russian forces locked in a virtual stalemate on Ukrainian territory.
“There is no guarantee of success with us, but without us they will certainly fail,” said a senior US military official.
Ukraine's armed forces will “certainly” fail without continued US military support, a senior US military official said
The background for the dire warnings is a stalled American emergency aid package. President Joe Biden has requested $61 billion to meet Ukraine's urgent needs for longer-range missiles, air defense, ammunition and other needs.
That request remains tied to Republican demands from Congress for new policy changes aimed at gaining control of the southern border.
Senate negotiators continue to negotiate a possible solution, with differing opinions on how far apart the two sides are. Although the Senate remains in session next week, House Speaker Mike Johnson has already sent his lawmakers home for the holidays.
“The House will not delay in receiving and discussing a rushed product,” he said Thursday evening.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington this week to plead with lawmakers for further help. But even Senate Republican Ukraine hawks emphasized the need for movement on U.S. border security issues, leaving its fate uncertain.
Russian troops, pictured on patrol, destroyed part of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022, suffering a staggering 315,000 deaths or injuries since the invasion, according to declassified US intelligence
“There will be peace if we achieve our goals,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday
On Friday, Hungary, whose President Viktor Orban is among the closest European leaders to the Kremlin, blocked an attempt by the European Union to provide additional aid to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, remains undaunted in his public goals, despite declassified US intelligence reports stating that Russia has killed or wounded as many as 315,000 soldiers since the invasion began less than two years ago, out of a pre-invasion force of 360,000 man. .
“There will be peace if we achieve our goals,” Putin said Thursday at his annual year-end news conference. “As for the objectives, they are unchanged,” he said.