Zelenskyi campaigns in the USA for the continuation of military aid for Ukraine

The majority leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, warned after the meeting with Selensky that Ukraine needed help quickly. "He made it clear, and we all made it clear, that if we lose, Putin wins," said Schumer, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. This would be very dangerous for the USA.

This is Selensky's third visit to Washington - his "most important", as Schumer said. The stakes are high for Zelensky: Washington is Kiev's most important supporter in the war against the Russian invasion forces. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, the USA has provided or pledged military aid to Ukraine amounting to more than 44 billion dollars (41 billion euros).

Last week, however, the opposition US Republicans rejected a financial package worth 106 billion dollars presented by Biden. It contains Ukraine aid amounting to 61.4 billion dollars. Among other things, the Republicans are demanding further concessions on US immigration policy and securing the border with Mexico.

The White House had stated that the funds for Ukraine would run out by the end of the year without an agreement with Congress. On his arrival in the US capital on Monday, the Ukrainian president warned that US aid would run out. Delays in this aid were "dreams come true" for the Russian president.

According to the Kremlin, the US financial aid for Ukraine has not yet had the desired effect. "The tens of billions of dollars that have been pumped into Ukraine have not helped it to achieve success on the battlefield," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

US President Biden had warned the Republicans that Putin would not stop his attacks in the event of a Russian victory in Ukraine, but could even attack a Nato country. Ukraine aid could therefore not be delayed any longer.

Republican Senator J.D. Vance from the far-right wing of the party dismissed these warnings as "absurd". There should be no "blank check" for Ukraine, said Vance. "What will 61 billion US dollars achieve that 100 billion US dollars have not achieved?"

Meanwhile, the Russian army made significant progress in the partially Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, according to Russian reports. "Our units have advanced significantly north-east of Novopokrovka," said the local governor appointed by Russia, Yevgeny Balitsky. The Ukrainian army, however, spoke of Russian attacks that had been repelled.

The village of Novopokrovka is located north-east of Robotyne. The Ukrainian army captured the village in August and hoped to achieve a breakthrough in the direction of the Sea of Azov further south as part of its counter-offensive launched in June. However, the Ukrainian forces have made little progress so far.