European leaders say they can’t fully replace U.S. support to Ukraine as funding fears grow

[beijingwalker]

European leaders say they can’t fully replace U.S. support to Ukraine as funding fears grow​

PUBLISHED THU, OCT 5 202311:30 AM
Sam Meredith

KEY POINTS

• European leaders said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would not be able to fully replace U.S. support for war-torn Ukraine.
• In the U.S., President Joe Biden conceded Wednesday that he feared recent congressional chaos could disrupt U.S. aid to Ukraine after Republican infighting had complicated budget negotiations.
• “Ukraine needs the support of the European Union, which is sure, they will have it and we will increase it. But also, the support of the U.S.,” Josep Borrell told reporters in Granada, Spain, on Thursday.

EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell talks to the press as he arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023.

European leaders said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would not be able to fully replace U.S. support for war-torn Ukraine but made clear they were “absolutely convinced” Kyiv’s biggest financial and military backer would soon come to an agreement to provide further assistance.

Gathering in Granada, Spain, for a summit of the European Political Community, European leaders sought to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion. The meeting comes shortly after political upheavals on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the U.S., President Joe Biden conceded Wednesday that he feared recent congressional chaos could disrupt U.S. aid to Ukraine after Republican infighting had complicated budget negotiations. He has insisted, however, that a majority of members across both major parties support funding Kyiv.

Meanwhile, in Europe, pro-Russian former Prime Minister Robert Fico won an election in Slovakia last weekend on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine.

“I was in Kyiv some days ago just at the moment when we knew that the U.S. Congress had not included support to Ukraine on the big deal about the budget in order to avoid the shutdown,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Granada on Thursday.

“That was certainly not expected, and it is certainly not good news, but I hope it is not going to be a definite position of the U.S.” he said. “Ukraine needs the support of the European Union, which is sure, they will have it and we will increase it. But also, the support of the U.S.”
Asked whether Europe can fill the gap left by the U.S. amid concerns about Washington’s continued support for Kyiv, Borrell replied, “Certainly Europe cannot replace the U.S.”

Zelenskyy ‘confident in America’
Russia welcomed the news that a new U.S. funding bill had passed without any fresh aid for Ukraine. Viktor Bondarev, head of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, said via Telegram that “this is the beginning of the end for Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared resolute Thursday, however. Speaking to European leaders in Spain, Zelenskyy said he was “confident in America” when referring to recent “political storms.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was working on a package of 50 billion euros ($52 billion) for Kyiv from 2024 to 2027, hailing it as “very important because Ukraine needs predictability and reliability in the direct budget support.”

Reflecting on concerns over the long-term support to Ukraine from the U.S., the EU chief said, “It was very important that President Biden informed us at the beginning of this week what the support for Ukraine is concerned from the side of the United States.”
“As far as I oversee the situation in the United States, I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States. What the United States is working on is the timing,” she added.

‘U.S. will stay on board’​

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, meanwhile, said he’s “absolutely convinced” the U.S. will continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

“Not at all,” Rutte said when asked whether he was concerned Biden’s administration may reduce its support for Kyiv.

Rutte said senior Democrat and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives had recently visited the Hague and they were “in total agreement on the need to continue the support for Ukraine because this

“We cannot accept one country in 2022, 2023 invading another nation so I am absolutely convinced that they will solve this issue,” he added.

Asked whether the EU could step in if the U.S. does not resume its support for Ukraine, Rutte said: “It is not necessary. The EU will do what is necessary [and] the Netherlands is among the top countries in terms of contribution for Ukraine … but I am absolutely convinced that the U.S. will stay on board.”

European leaders say they can’t fully replace U.S. support to Ukraine as funding fears grow

European leaders said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would not be able to fully replace U.S. support for war-torn Ukraine.

www.cnbc.com

 

[beijingwalker]

Putin says Ukraine would last ‘a week’ if Western military support stops​

Putin’s prediction comes as concerns mount about future of US funding for Ukraine amid political turmoil in Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on October 5, 2023 [Grigory Sysoyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool via AP Photo]
Published On 6 Oct 20236 Oct 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine could not survive for more than “a week” without Western military and financial aid, a claim made on the same day as a European Union official warned that the bloc could not replace the funding gap if support for Kyiv from the United States dried up.

Putin made his remarks on Western funding for Ukraine as fears mount that political turmoil in Washington could jeopardise crucial military and humanitarian aid that Kyiv requires to battle Russia’s invasion. US President Joe Biden admitted this week that he “does worry” US support for Ukraine might get derailed.

Speaking on Thursday at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said that Ukraine was being propped up “thanks to multi-billion donations that come each month”.

“If one just stops, it will all die in a week,” Putin said.

“The same applies to the defence system. Just imagine the aid stops tomorrow. It will live for only a week when they run out of ammo,” he said.
Putin also claimed that Ukraine had lost more than 90,000 troops since Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces began in June.

Is this the end of large-scale support for the war in Ukraine? | The Bottom Line

At a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain on Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU could not replace the US as Kyiv’s primary donor.

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“Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US,” Borrell said.

The EU and the US – together comprising most NATO members – are vital in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. The EU and its member states have promised more than $100bn in multi-year support to Ukraine, including financing weapon deliveries. Washington has committed $43bn in military assistance, while Congress has approved $113bn, which includes humanitarian aid.

But new US funding for Ukraine has been put on hold as part of a weekend deal struck with opposition Republicans to avert a US government shutdown.

The removal by hardline Republicans of their own House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week has added to the uncertainty around aid for Ukraine. Some of the hardliners want US aid to Ukraine to cease.

Jim Dubik, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank, said that Putin is counting on NATO and the US to wane in their support for Ukraine, and recent events in the US Congress play into Putin’s hands.

“By cutting aid to Ukraine, Congress is directly supporting Putin’s desire to divide the alliance … Congress’s recent action does not manifest the strategic leadership the world expects of the United States,” Dubik said in a comment posted on social media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to the meeting in Spain of European leaders on Thursday, expressed concern about Washington’s “political storms” but said he was confident he still had US bipartisan backing.

Leaders at the EPC summit said Putin’s calculation was that the West would become fatigued at long-term support of Ukraine, handing him a path to victory.

“I think Russia wants us to be tired,” Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, adding: “We should show them that we are not. We have to help Ukraine as long as it takes.”.
French President Emmanuel Macron reinforced that message in a meeting with Zelenskyy, pledging “tireless” support for Ukraine.

But within the EU there are fissures.

Slovakia announced it has frozen decisions on military aid to neighbouring Ukraine following parliamentary elections on Sunday which were won by former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s SMER-SSD party, which campaigned on a promise to end military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

Putin says Ukraine would last ‘a week’ if Western military support stops

Putin’s prediction comes as concerns mount about future of US funding for Ukraine amid political turmoil in Washington.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[beijingwalker]

I always know Russia will win in the end from day one, only morons and PDF "professionals" can't see it.