Officials in Kyiv and its backers are now worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin could succeed simply by waiting out the war.
State of play:
- Ukraine aid is at the center of partisan spending fights in Washington, with a majority of House Republicans voting against additional funding in votes last week.
- Polish officials anxious over elections are lashing out at Kyiv. And in NATO ally Slovakia, a party headed by a pro-Kremlin politician came out on top in recent parliamentary elections.
Russian officials are not yet celebrating but are expressing optimism that time is on their side.
“We have repeatedly said that according to our forecasts, fatigue from this conflict, from the absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime, will grow in different countries, including the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier this week.
Ukraine’s backers in Washington are scrambling to shore up support to fulfill President Biden’s request to deliver on $24 billion in new economic and military assistance for Kyiv.
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An effort to deliver $6 billion for Ukraine in a short-term government funding bill was axed in the face of staunch opposition from some House Republicans in a vote over the weekend.
- “Time is not our friend,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.
And Biden was put in the awkward position of having to reassure allies in Europe, Asia and NATO on a phone call Tuesday morning that despite the chaos in Congress, the U.S. was steadfast in its support for Kyiv and commitments to allies.
Ukrainian officials and their supporters, meanwhile, have downplayed the immediate effects of the D.C. spending battle and schisms in Europe.
Read more here, from our colleague Laura Kelly.
Foreign policy experts also spoke with The Hill’s Amee LaTour on the impact a delay in more aid to Ukraine would have. Read that here
