Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being welcomed to the White House by President Biden on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy is making the trip to the United States to push for more weapons and aid to be sent to Ukraine. The visit comes at an important time. Biden has asked Congress for more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine but has so far been rebuffed. Zelenskyy is also expected to visit Capitol Hill to meet with senators on Tuesday and will also meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to plead for the aid.
The U.S. gave Ukraine more than $112 billion in humanitarian, financial and military support in 2022. Over time, the topic has grown increasingly divisive in the second year of the war.
Many Republican lawmakers and voters believe the support should come to an end. An August CNN poll found a majority of Americans say Congress should not authorize more funding for Ukraine, with divisions along party lines.
Biden has long insisted that the U.S. will stick by Ukraine in its fight against Russia for as long as it takes, but the Republican support is not there anymore.
The White House says Biden will get an update from Zelenskyy on how things are going on the battlefield and will also assure him, as well as the Ukrainian people, that the United States is going to support them through the winter fighting season.
Biden included his funding request for Ukraine as part of a larger request for more than $105 billion in supplemental national security funding that also includes aid for Israel, for countering China in the Indo-Pacific and for beefing up security at the U.S. southern border.
To hear Tony Katz’s thoughts on sending Ukraine more money, click the link below.
