Zelenskyy makes 11th hour plea for Ukraine war funds in Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday plans a last-ditch plea to U.S. lawmakers to keep military support flowing as he battles Russia, in visits to the White House and Capitol Hill.
Heading into winter, with tens of thousands of Ukrainians dead, a yawning budget deficit and Russian advances in the east, Zelenskyy is scheduled to press U.S. lawmakers to replenish nearly depleted funding, before meeting with President Joe Biden.
“If there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it’s just (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his sick clique,” Zelenskyy said at a speech in Washington on Monday to a U.S. military audience.
Speaking at a security meeting Wednesday, Putin said he was confident that Russia and its allies could “achieve the formation of a more equitable, multipolar world, while the ideology of exceptionalism as well as the neocolonial system, which has undergirded the exploitation of the resources of the entire world, will inevitably recede into the past,” according to comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass.
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Newly declassified U.S. intelligence shows that “Russia seems to believe that a military deadlock through the winter will drain Western support for Ukraine” and ultimately give Russia the advantage despite Russian losses, said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
Ukraine is having success stopping Russian forces but Putin is continuing to order his troops forward despite heavy losses of troops and equipment since October, she added.
There are just three days before Congress recesses for the year on Friday, and Republicans in the House of Representatives have until now refused to pass a $106 billion supplemental bill that contains Ukraine aid without unrelated, fiercely disputed changes to U.S. immigration.
Putin, who said last week he would run for president…
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