Zelensky says Ukraine will lose war without US funding

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Ukraine “will lose the war” against Russia if U.S. lawmakers do not pass funding for the war-torn nation.

“We need to tell Congress specifically … if Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky said Sunday during a meeting with the UNITED24, the Ukrainian government’s fundraising platform.

“If Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked,” he added. “This is a fact.”

Additional U.S. funding for Ukraine has remained stalled in Congress for more than a year due to sharp divisions amid lawmakers.

The House returns from a two-week recess Tuesday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has indicated he plans to take up aid for the nation upon the lower chamber’s return.

The Louisiana Republican has long said he wants to pass funding for Ukraine as the country enters its third year of trying to fight against a Russian invasion, but his party’s internal politics have made it a difficult proposition.

In February, the Speaker refused to consider a Senate-passed foreign aid package that would have included $60 billion for Ukraine because of its lack of border security measures. Conservatives earlier killed a border security deal designed to be attached to the bill. 

Zelensky warned that Russia will introduce its nuclear stockpile in its war with Ukraine in an effort to instill fear in Ukraine’s allied nations.

“And you will see in the coming weeks that Russia will be more and more insistent and will drag nuclear weapons into this issue, threatening, playing with this issue. Because it is only through the issue of nuclear weapons that they can put pressure on other NATO countries — including the United States — on societies to make them afraid and then they will react to their leaders,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month suggested his country is prepared to use nuclear weapons against any threats to its sovereignty, but he noted there has so far been no need with Ukraine.

The White House last month unveiled a $300 million emergency military aid package to Ukraine, the first since December.

“Ukrainian troops have fought bravely are fighting bravely throughout this war, but they are now forced to ration their ammunition under pressure on multiple fronts, and we’re already seeing the effects on the battlefield,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the time.