Schumer announced Zelensky’s next speech on Monday after the Biden administration said it was urgent to approve military and economic aid to Ukraine. The White House has warned that without this help, kyiv’s military efforts to defend against a Russian invasion could grind to a halt.
Schumer said he invited Zelensky to speak to senators so they “could hear directly from him exactly what is at stake.” Senators will also hear from representatives of the Pentagon, the State Department and other senior officials on national security issues.
President Joe Biden is pushing for nearly $106 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and other needs, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill have not yet released the money.
There is growing skepticism in the House of Representatives about the magnitude of aid to Ukraine. Even those Republicans who support continuing the aid link its release to the issue of tightening immigration policies at the U.S. southern border to stem the flow of migrants.
“Congress must decide whether to continue supporting the fight for freedom in Ukraine within the 50-nation coalition that President Biden has created, or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we have learned from history and allow Putin to prevail,” he said. the national advisor. Monday, safety Jake Sullivan. – It’s so simple. “This is a difficult decision and we hope Congress makes the right decision in a bipartisan manner.”
The US Congress has already allocated $111 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $67 billion for military procurement, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance, and $10 billion for humanitarian assistance.
By mid-November, all but about 3% of military funding had been exhausted, said Shalanda Young, director of the Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget.
“I want to be clear: Without Congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of funds to purchase new weapons and equipment for Ukraine, as well as to provide equipment from the US military arsenal,” Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. . “We don’t have a magic source of funding to solve this problem. “We are running out of money and almost out of time.”
The new aid package, which the White House is asking for approval, offers an additional $61 billion for Ukraine, mainly to buy weapons from the United States, and $14.3 billion for Israel, including $10.6 billion for weapons. In addition, about $14 billion is allocated for US border security, assistance to the Asia-Pacific region, and other provisions related to US national security.
Earlier Monday, Senator Schumer said that both Senate Republicans and Democrats had agreed to fund Ukraine and Israel, but that the funds had been delayed for several weeks due to Republican demands to include border security measures in the final package. which, according to Democrats, goes too far.