Zelensky’s last-ditch plea to save $44B US aid package: Ukrainian president prepares to meet Biden and speak to Congress as Republicans and more Americans grow more skeptical about giving more money to Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make a last-minute plea to Congress on Tuesday for an arms package to continue his fight against Russia, as nearly half of Americans say the US already has too much use of the war-torn country issued.

His personal visit, the third since the war began, will be his most crucial and is a sign of how dire the White House sees the situation: both to get Zelensky his funding and how crucial that money is to countering Russian forces. to hold.

But a poll by the Financial Times and Michigan Ross found that 48% of voters said the US was spending “too much” sending financial and military aid to Ukraine. And a Pew Poll found that only 31% of Americans say the same, but – upon further analysis – 48% of Republicans said too much was spent on Kiev.

President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $61.4 billion for Ukraine as part of a $110 billion package that also includes money for Israel and other national security priorities.

The money is embroiled in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security, with no sign of a deal in sight. And Congress will leave town at the end of this week for the rest of the year.

Many Republican lawmakers, especially in the House of Representatives, argue that enough American money has been spent on Ukraine and that it would be better off spending it domestically. These Republican lawmakers are trying to tie border security to the financing package for Kiev and Israel.

The US has already provided Ukraine with $111 billion for its fight since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the country in February 2022.

But the Biden administration has warned that a failure to renew military aid to Ukraine could tilt the nearly two-year war in Russia's favor, creating national security threats for the West.

“This cannot wait,” Biden said in an impassioned televised speech from the White House on Wednesday.

“Frankly, I find it mind-boggling that we've even gotten to this point where Republicans in Congress are willing to give Putin the biggest gift he could hope for.”

Zelensky said he would tell Biden and lawmakers about the achievements he can see Ukraine gaining in the coming year.

“I am convinced that freedom can be stronger than all its enemies,” he said.

Zelensky starts his day on Capitol Hill, where he attends a meeting of all senators after a joint invitation from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. He will then meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

He will then head to the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Biden and a joint press conference with the president.

“This is exactly the right time to have President Zelensky in town to have these discussions, because of what's going on in Ukraine, the increased activity we're seeing with the Russian armed forces as winter approaches, but also what's going on on Capitol Hill,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.

Biden's budget director Shalanda Young said on December 4 that the US would run out of resources to help Ukraine by the end of the calendar year.

By mid-November, the U.S. Department of Defense had used 97% of the $62.3 billion in additional funding and the State Department had used the entire $4.7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine it had allocated, she noted.

The US has provided roughly half of the military aid to Ukraine and it is unlikely that any other country could make up the difference. In addition, the US has sent American weapon systems that require American ammunition.

The Biden administration is doing everything it can to get Zelensky's war financed.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on political talk shows on Sunday that the clock is ticking.

“This is a time to really step up, because if we don't, we know what happens. Putin will be able to move forward with impunity and we know he will not stop in Ukraine,” Blinken said.

But Republicans appeared to remain steadfast in the face of Zelensky's meetings with them. The right wing, led by 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, has soured dramatically on Ukraine's cause.

“What is in America's best interest is to accept that Ukraine will have to cede some territory to the Russians and that we have to end the war,” Senator JD Vance, a close Trump ally, said on Sunday.

“If Congress needs to delay voting on the additional security measure to reach an agreement on border security, then so be it. The risks of an unsecured border are simply too great,” Republican Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska wrote on X.

Zelenskiy's wife is also making a plea to Europe as Hungarians threaten to veto a vote in the European Union to approve the proposal. $50 billion in aid for Ukraine.

“We really need the help,” Olena Zelenska told the BBC this weekend. “In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation because if we do, we will die.”

She added: “We are deeply saddened to see the signs that the passionate willingness to help could be fading.”

As President Zelensky headed to Washington DC on Monday, the Russian military hit Kiev with the most intense salvo of ballistic missiles in months.

All eight rockets aimed at the city of 3.3 million people were shot down, the Ukrainian military said.

In his first public appearance in America on Monday, Zelensky warned that failure to help his country defeat Russia fulfills Vladimir Putin's “dreams” of destroying democracy in Europe.

“Let me be honest with you, friends: If there is anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it is only Putin and his sick cabal,” Zelenskiy told the National Defense University. “They see their dreams come true when they see delays.”

'When the free world hesitates, dictatorships celebrate.'

Zelensky said politicians should not “betray the soldier,” while pointing out that the drying up of the US was welcomed by Putin.

“You can count on Ukraine and we hope to be able to count on you as well,” Zelensky said. 'Putin must lose.'

His warning came ahead of his meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Brown at National Defense University.

Wearing his signature green army-style sweatshirt, emblazoned with the words “I am Ukrainian,” he flew to Washington this weekend after a round of diplomacy in Argentina.

Putin, meanwhile, appeared in a video circulating online on Sunday in which he said: Ukraine will only become weaker as Russia becomes stronger.

“When you don't have your own foundations, you don't have your own ideology, you don't have your own industry, you don't have your own money,” he said, holding a glass of champagne in his hand. . “You have nothing that is yours. Then you have no future, but we do.'