Media: part of the US Congress opposed aid to Ukraine

Members of Congress from the Republican Party questioned the advisability of helping Ukraine after intelligence questioned the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the counteroffensive, transmits The Washington Post, citing sources.

Some Republicans are now refusing President Biden’s request for an additional $20.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, given the modest results of the offensive.

At the same time, according to the newspaper, some Republicans and most Democrats are criticizing the administration of US President Joe Biden about the fact that Ukraine was allocated insufficient assistance. In turn, the administration rejects these allegations.

According to the publication, the US intelligence community doubts whether the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to reach Melitopol during the counteroffensive and cut the land corridor to Crimea. The reason for this is Russia’s experience in defending its territories with the help of minefields on the defensive line.

On August 10, US President Joe Biden asked the US Congress, as reported by CNN, $13 billion for military assistance to Ukraine and $7.3 billion for economic assistance. Republican congressmen after that demanded from Biden to withdraw the request for new funding.

Earlier, the Associated Press wrote that disagreements are now growing between members of Congress on the allocation of assistance to Ukraine. In particular, according to the publication, Republican congressmen need to show support for the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who opposes the continuation of the conflict.

According to the Pentagon, since the beginning of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Washington has allocated a total of more than $43 billion to Kyiv for military assistance. The US authorities announced the previous package at the end of July. Then the amount of military assistance amounted to $ 400 million. In total, according to The Washington Post, Kyiv since February 24 last year received about $66.2 billion in U.S. military, financial, and humanitarian aid, the largest amount of support Washington has given to another country since World War II.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of military aid to Ukraine and pointed to the growing direct and indirect involvement of Western countries in the conflict in Ukraine. In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian army in Ukraine is opposed to “virtually the entire military machine of the collective West.”