(BBC News) President Joe Biden has vowed continued U.S. support for Ukraine, after further military funding was excluded from a last-minute congressional budget deal.
The temporary measure, pushed through to avert a government shutdown, did not include $6 billion in military aid for Kyiv — a top White House priority.
Hardline Republicans oppose further military aid, with many openly opposing Biden’s approach to the war.
But on Sunday, Biden said Ukraine could “count on” U.S. support.
“We cannot, under any circumstances, allow U.S. support to Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said.
“I can reassure (Ukraine) we’ll get there, that we’re going to get it done,” he said on restoring funding for the war. “I want to assure our American allies… that you can count on our support; we will not walk away.”
The US has already supplied some $46 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russian launched its invasion in February 2022.
President Biden has requested another $24 billion.
And in recent months, the U.S. has sent state-of-the-art equipment to Kyiv, including long-range missiles and Abrams tanks. It comes as Kyiv’s forces continue to launch a slow-moving counter-offensive in the south of the country.
But Saturday’s temporary budget agreement — which will fund the U.S. federal government for 45 days — stripped out continued military funding for the time being.
Senior Senate leaders from both parties released a joint statement signalling their intention to “ensure the U.S. government continues to provide” support to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
But the move — which came nine days after President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington to plead for further support — reflects increasing opposition from hard-right Republicans in the House of Representatives to the war in recent months.
Republicans control the House of Representatives, with Democrats enjoying a wafer-thin majority in the Senate. Both need to approve legislation on the budget before it is signed into law.
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz told reporters on Saturday that funding “already authorized out of this Congress is somewhere between more than enough and way too much.”
And Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor-Green said far too much aid had already been allocated to Kyiv, saying “Ukraine is not the 51st state.”
Their approach provoked a furious reaction from Democratic Party senators.
“I can’t believe people are going to walk away from Ukraine at this moment in time,” Senator Mark Warner said.
Despite the row, officials in Kyiv have sought to frame this new 45-day funding agreement in the U.S. as an “opportunity” for its diplomats to secure longer-term support. It’s more like an unwanted deadline.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry says the “flow of U.S. aid won’t change” with $3 billion of humanitarian and military support set to still arrive, but it concedes “ongoing programs” might be affected.
