Ukraine has said it is shocked that the United States has yet to approve a new military aid package as it grapples with battlefield munitions shortages more than two years after Russia invaded, Le Monde reported.
The $60 billion aid package has been blocked in the US House of Representatives for months, as Republican lawmakers have insisted the new funds be tied to more action against illegal immigration.
„What really matters and what shocks us is that the decision has not yet been made,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at an online briefing for foreign media. “It is nearing the end of March and the discussions continue, the discussions on the matter of vital interest, the strategic interest of the US in Europe”.
Kuleba's comments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said a swift decision by Congress was "critically important" during a meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham.
Addressing more than 50 defense leaders from Europe and the world who met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged that the US would continue to support Ukraine's military efforts against Russia , even as Congress stalls on funding to send additional weapons to the front.
“The United States will not allow Ukraine to fail,”, Austin said. “This coalition will not allow Ukraine to fail. And the free world will not allow Ukraine to fail“