The desire to breathe new life into the release of aid, while negotiations in the US Congress on the validation of an envelope are stalling. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday pledged continued U.S. support for Ukraine, after a meeting in Davos with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We are committed to continuing our support for Ukraine and we are working very closely with Congress" on the issue, Blinken said during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. "I know our European colleagues will do the same." White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who was also in attendance, assured the Ukrainian president that the United States and its allies were committed "to ensuring that Russia fails and Ukraine wins."
Zelensky thanked the Biden administration and the "bipartisan support" in the U.S. Congress. "We're really counting on your support – the continuation of your huge support," he said. In particular, he mentioned the American Patriot system, which has helped Ukraine in its air defense against Russian missile attacks.
Blocking aid
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has already sent some $44 billion in military aid to Ukraine, in addition to billions in assistance and economic support. The Biden administration released its latest aid package at the end of December, but Republicans are conditioning their support for a new package on a drastic tightening of US immigration policy.
Some of them, including former President Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner in his camp for the presidential campaign, are sceptical about the aid and the chances of a Ukrainian victory. The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve a total of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, but also for Israel and Taiwan, causes more popular with Republicans.
On Tuesday in Davos, the Ukrainian head of state reiterated the urgency of unblocking aid. Zelensky said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a "predator" who would not be satisfied with a "frozen" conflict in Ukraine, where the front line has been largely immobile for several months. "After 2014, attempts were made to freeze the war in Donbass (eastern Ukraine). There were very influential guarantors, the German Chancellor (Angela Merkel), the French President (François Hollande). But Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products," Zelensky said.
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He accused the Russian president of "trying to normalize" the "mass deportations, the razed towns and villages and the terrifying feeling that the war may never end." "In fact, Putin embodies war," Zelensky continued, estimating that he "will not change." Calling once again on the West to deliver more weapons to his country, the Ukrainian president assured that "the possible directions and the very timing of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine are becoming more and more obvious".
In particular, he demanded that its Western allies help Kiev gain "air superiority" over Russia by delivering fighter jets, also assuring that he had already regained the advantage against Moscow's Black Sea fleet. "Our partners know our needs and how much," he said, adding that Ukraine had proven that it "can hit Russian military aircraft that no one has shot down before."
The day before, Kyiv claimed responsibility for the downing of two Russian command planes over the Sea of Azov, which would be a major blow to Russia in an area it is supposed to control. Zelensky also slammed Western calls not to escalate the conflict. "For us, every step of escalation sounds like a You will win for Putin," he said. He also called for sanctions to be imposed on Russia's nuclear industry and for Russian assets frozen in Europe to be paid to Ukraine.