“Razom”, the pro-Ukrainian advocacy group, urged Congress to pass a new military aid program for Ukraine so that US President-elect Donald Trump could enter peace negotiations on Ukraine with leverage, according to HuffPost.
As winter approaches, experts warn that the 2024-2025 season in Ukraine is poised to be one of the harshest yet, exacerbated by severe damage to the country’s energy infrastructure by Russian attacks. Ukrainians will likelt face long blackouts, with more than a half energy generation capacity lost in assaults. As the same time, Kyiv needs weapons to hold positions in Kursk Oblast and defend settlements in eastern Ukraine, inlcluding Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Razom, a network of Ukrainian activists throughout the US, including 200,000 people, have called Congress to pass a new aid program before Trump takes office in January.
“The aid package must enable Ukrainians to survive the winter, push Putin’s forces back, and give President-elect Trump the flexibility he needs to act from a position of strength.
“Failure to urgently pass a supplemental package risks undermining President-elect Trump’s position before he assumes office,” Razom said.
Razom political analyst Doug Klein explained that Joe Biden plans to spend the funds allocated for the current military aid program for Ukraine by the end of the year. Once Biden leaves office, Trump will need to request similar funding from Congress.
That would give Trump a way to show Russia he wasn’t going to just ”[let] Putin do what he wants,” Klain said.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson told HuffPost that the Republican majority was not interested in taking up a Ukraine supplemental soon.
Related:
- The Telegraph: Trump eyes 1,000-km buffer zone in Ukraine, guarded by EU and British forces
- Reuters: Trump team disavows advisor’s stance on Ukraine territorial concessions for peace
- Biden: NATO allies split over Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside Russia