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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the United States that Ukraine needs the $60 billion in aid currently stuck in a congressional stalemate within a month.
Zelensky said the long-awaited package is about military support, not financial support, and that he is not sure Ukraine will be able to find the types and quantities of weapons it needs if the funding does not materialize.
“Our position on the battlefield will be weaker [without it],” Zelensky said, speaking at a conference in Kiev on Sunday.
He gave the example of US-made Patriot air defense systems, which have helped protect key cities from Russian missiles, but cost around $1.5 billion and which Ukraine could not afford without US support United.
Zelensky said Europe could not replace the United States in terms of weapons supplies, pointing to the continent’s shortage of air defense systems, although he said it could supply more long-range missiles.
The EU has provided Ukraine with a 50 billion euro aid package, but this is mainly financial rather than military support.
If the United States does not pass the bill, “it will leave me wondering what world we live in,” Zelensky said, but added that he was confident that the US Congress would ultimately accept the package. Although Ukraine “will look for others, grant loans and put pressure on partners” if necessary, he added.
In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, Western leaders arrived in Kiev on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. But the main thrust of Western support still lies in the US aid package that is beyond the control of the White House or Europe.
Following Zelensky’s comments, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan pressured Republican leaders in Congress to unfreeze assistance to Ukraine.
“We need money to be able to supply weapons to Ukraine. We don’t have the money. Only Congress can provide the money,” Sullivan said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
He called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to “break politics in his caucus” and put US President Joe Biden’s relief package request to a vote.
Zelensky reiterated during his speech that Ukraine has no plans to enter into negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the deteriorating situation on the front and the gap in crucial military aid from the United States.
Russia was not invited to the four peace talks Ukraine held last year in Europe and the Middle East, with the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, saying the Kremlin would be invited only after a change in the Russian leadership.
Zelensky called the negotiations a dead end for Ukraine and Ukrainians. “The hardest part was two years ago and we have no alternative. If we lose, we will be gone,” he said.
He also refuted reports that Ukraine’s military losses were in the hundreds of thousands, citing a total of 31,000 soldiers killed but declining to confirm the number of wounded. Total Russian casualties were about 500,000, he claimed.
But Zelensky’s figures are well below the 70,000 Ukrainians killed that U.S. officials provided to the New York Times in August — and many more have died since then while fending off ferocious Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine, where Russia is seeking to conquer lands.
Last week, after four months of fighting, Russia captured the strategic town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have since advanced westward, capturing the previously Ukrainian-held village of Pobeda in the Donetsk region, according to a Ukrainian commander of the 24th Brigade.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, speaking at the conference, said that half of Western military aid was delivered late, resulting in the loss of territory and people.
But overall, Ukrainian officials stressed their belief that Western support will continue and that they will be able to find solutions to win the war against Russia.
“We already have a plan for 2024, but we won’t talk about it publicly. The plan is powerful, strong and will give us not only hope but also a result in 2024,” Umerov said.
To mitigate the deficit created by faltering US support, Ukraine planned to triple its domestic weapons production, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, said.
He added that Kiev also aims to build its own air defense system and introduce large-scale Ukrainian-made land-based drones this year, adding that Ukrainian-made weapons have proven effective and cheap.
“The war will not be won by those who have the most resources, but by those who use them most effectively,” Kamyshin said.