Washington, December 6 – Republican senators left a briefing requested by the US administration on assistance to Ukraine and Israel after not receiving answers from Democrats regarding their proposals, stated Congressman Mitt Romney. “Republicans simply walked out of the briefing because people there were not ready to discuss what is needed to reach a deal. There was no reason to sit and listen to people talk about the importance of aid to Israel and Ukraine. We know this and we agree,” Romney told journalists. Thus, the Democrats’ initiated “secret briefing,” which aimed to convince senators of the importance of allocating new funds to Kiev, failed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also canceled his participation in it “at the last moment.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in turn, urged fellow party members not to support the White House’s request. “I hope that all members will vote against the advancement of the bill…we insist on significant changes at the border,” he said to journalists. Earlier, US President Joe Biden requested $106 billion from Congress to provide aid to Israel and Ukraine, but did not receive unanimous support. The House of Representatives, where the majority belongs to Republicans, voted in favor of supporting only Tel Aviv, but this initiative was blocked by the Senate, controlled by Democrats. Biden stated that he will not sign a bill allocating aid only to Israel without Ukraine if Congress approves such a document, while Republicans in the House of Representatives insist on separately discussing support for Kiev. The reluctance of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to coordinate appropriations twice in recent months has brought the country’s government closer to a shutdown due to the lack of an approved budget. At the same time, lawmakers approved temporary measures both times. The previously allocated funds are running out, acknowledged the administration, so the packages of weapons sent to Ukraine are decreasing. In early November, White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that Washington had already spent 96 percent of all funds allocated to support Kiev since the start of the Russian special operation. If Congress does not reach an agreement on aid to Ukraine now, it will have to do so after the Christmas holidays, which will begin on December 14 for congressmen and December 15 for senators. The House of Representatives will resume its activities on January 9, and the Senate on January 8. According to NBC News, the Democratic and Republican parties attempted to reconcile their positions on Biden’s request for additional support to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but these negotiations failed as the parties could not agree on the Republicans’ demands for stricter immigration legislation. If Congress does not reach an agreement on aid to Ukraine now, it will have to do so after the Christmas holidays, which will begin on December 14 for congressmen and December 15 for senators. Russia previously sent a note to NATO countries due to arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any shipments containing arms for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the West’s arming of Ukraine does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, not only through arms supplies but also through training personnel in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and other countries.
