President Zelenskiy said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that his country's soldiers are outnumbered and “lack the equipment needed to fight Russian reconnaissance drones, which are essentially guided artillery. ” he said. He said Ukraine's military does not have its own long-range weapons or adequate air defenses, and noted that Ukraine lost time and momentum while U.S. lawmakers debated aid.
“We have had a stalled process for half a year, and we have made losses in some directions in the east. It was very difficult and we lost the initiative there,” Zelenskyy said. “Now we have every chance to stabilize the situation and take the initiative. That's why we need to actually have weapons systems.”
The $60 billion aid package had been stalled due to bitter infighting within the Republican Party over whether to side with Ukraine against Russia, which invaded the country more than two years ago. Officials in Washington and Kiev have warned that front-line troops in Ukraine are distributing rapidly evaporating weapons stockpiles and that the Russian military will soon have a 10-to-1 advantage in artillery fire.
Notably, President Zelenskiy did not give a timeline for when his forces would be able to regain the upper hand on the battlefield after receiving the weapons, nor did he say that additional support would be decisive in the war. I didn't mention it.
“I think this support will really strengthen the Ukrainian military and give us a chance of victory,” Zelenskiy said.
Mr. Zelenskiy thanked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and President Biden, who threatened his leadership position with support for the package, saying, “We will do everything we can to send weapons to Ukraine as soon as possible.'' We're calling on the Senate to act.''We need concrete support as soon as possible, not just six months, so our frontline soldiers can move forward. ” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said Saturday that the first vote on the $95 billion aid package will take place Tuesday afternoon.
The Pentagon is “ready” to provide significant military aid to Ukraine after the aid package is passed, a US official said late last week. “It will take less than a week,” said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity as others spoke about the Biden administration’s plan. Some weapons are delivered to the battlefield depending on where they are stored.
Zelenskiy has argued that the United States should end its aid to Ukraine and avoided a direct confrontation with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has vowed to end the war quickly if he wins a second term.
The Washington Post reports that President Trump has privately said he will pressure Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, which is in line with the Biden administration's policy of arming Ukraine to fight back against Russia. It is to be revoked.
Zelenskiy declined to comment on the report, but suggested that Trump and his advisers should understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a reliable negotiator. “They know they can never trust Putin. It's impossible,” Zelenskyy said.
In Washington, Democratic and Republican lawmakers supported the House's action, placing U.S. aid as a bulwark against authoritarian regimes around the world.
“If you give President Putin Ukraine, he won't stop,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), an ally of President Trump, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“And if we give him Ukraine, we give him Taiwan, because China is watching what we do,” Graham said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told news programs that the aid sends a message not only to Putin but also to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I think America is back on the offensive,” Blumenthal said. “And this sign sends a message to President Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping, and the world's dictators that it is too soon to pop the champagne cork. It's a sign that we can. America is going to protect democracy.”
Mr. Graham highlighted intraparty tensions, criticized Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for opposing aid to Ukraine, and offered a deeper look at what's at stake for the United States and its NATO allies. Vance said he needed to visit the country to understand.
“If you want U.S. military personnel to stay away from fighting Russia, help Ukraine,” Graham said.
Those comments echoed warnings from Zelensky and other leaders that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, Putin will eventually invade another European country.
“If Russia wins this war in Ukraine, it is very likely that we will go to war again.” [war] This is insatiable Russian imperialism,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), speaking on CBS's “Face the Nation,” said, “The failure to withdraw from Afghanistan was a failure,” and held Biden responsible for the development of the Ukraine war. I tried to transfer it. [in 2021] It encouraged President Putin to launch an invasion of Ukraine. ”
Sullivan acknowledged that he could not guarantee that Trump, who has frequently criticized U.S. aid to other countries, would support Ukraine if he wins in November. “Nobody can guarantee anything,” Sullivan said.
Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said the House should have acted long ago.
““The morale of the Ukrainian people has been great, but it's been damaged over the last few months as we've literally been handing out rationed ammunition,” Warner said on the CBS program. He called for tougher sanctions against Russia, calling China the “worst offender in providing direct military support” to Russia.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) downplayed the delays in delivering aid to Ukraine, emphasizing that the package was passed with bipartisan support. “I'm sorry, but democracy is kind of messy and the reality is it's over,” he said on “Face the Nation.”
