Russia is stepping up missile and drone attacks against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. The White House expects Moscow to begin attacking energy facilities as winter approaches.
John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the National Security Council, stated this while speaking to reporters on Monday.
He stressed that President Joe Biden, who will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Tuesday, will continue his efforts to convince Congress of the need to provide additional aid to Ukraine.
According to Kirby, Washington hopes to announce additional military assistance to kyiv by the end of the month.
“We don’t have many weeks left this year to implement security assistance, so I expect that we will announce additional security assistance before the end of the month,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden and senior administration officials are in close and frequent contact with lawmakers to discuss concerns about the nearly $50 billion in new aid to Ukraine.
“The problem of our national security is being solved in Ukraine. “Putin has made it clear that if he is successful there, he has plans for other Eastern European countries that are members of NATO and that we have a responsibility to protect,” Bates told reporters.
According to him, “not taking steps to allocate additional funds would be infinitely more expensive in all aspects.”
Biden made it clear to Zelensky that he strongly believes the request for additional funding should be approved, despite questions raised by many Republican lawmakers about continuing aid to Ukraine.
Recall that the next aid package for Kiev was delayed due to the demand of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and other Republicans not to allocate more funds unless measures are first taken to strengthen the United States border with Mexico .
A senior administration official said Sunday that the White House is working with House Republican leaders to find room to reach a deal.
