Addressing an audience of US officers at the National Defense University, Zelensky said Ukraine is fighting not just for its own existence but in defense of the freedoms that opened up across Europe in the wake of the Soviet collapse.

In a rebuke to Republicans in Congress who have turned against US funding for the Ukrainian war effort, Zelensky stated politicians should not “betray the soldier” — and he said the drying up of US aid was being cheered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“If there’s one inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill its just Putin and his sick clique,” he continued, adding, “They see their dreams come true when they see delays.”

“You can count on Ukraine and we hope just as much to be able to count on you,” Zelensky said, adding, “Putin must lose.”

The Ukrainian leader, who wore his trademark army style green sweatshirt, emblazoned with the words “I’m Ukrainian,” flew into Washington after a round of diplomacy this weekend in Argentina.

He was due to meet Tuesday with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders from both parties, including Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the visit came at “a critical time” and that Biden would make it clear he was “standing firm” on his bid to get Ukraine the aid it needs to resupply its troops and expand efforts to drive back Russian forces.
Zelensky was also meeting the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as he seeks to shore up his embattled nation’s economy in the midst of the all-out war. The IMF announced the release of a new $900 million tranche in an ongoing longterm loan.

Throughout the bloody conflict, which has seen swaths of Ukraine destroyed and millions driven from their homes, Ukrainian forces have depended heavily on a US-led coalition of countries delivering tens of billions of dollars in ammunition, weaponry, and economic and social aid.

Now the flow of US aid — described by Biden as part of an existential fight between the democratic world and Putin’s aggressive autocracy — is on the verge of drying up.

Republican senators last week blocked a White House request for $106 billion in emergency aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel.

Conservatives said they would refuse the package for the close foreign allies if Democrats and the White House did not also agree to far-ranging immigration reforms targeting security on the politically sensitive US-Mexican border.

More broadly, the Republican right-wing, led by 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, has dramatically soured against Ukraine’s cause.

“What’s in America’s best interest is to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians and we need to bring the war to a close,” Senator JD Vance, a close Trump ally, stated Sunday.

He dismissed as “preposterous” White House warnings that allowing Russia to win in Ukraine would put other eastern European countries, including NATO members, at risk.

There should be no “blank check” for Ukraine, Vance continued, adding, “You need to articulate what the ambition is. What is $61 billion going to accomplish that $100 billion hasn’t?“

According to the authoritative US publication, Western countries see “no immediate military danger to Europe from Russia” as long as the conflict in Ukraine continues.

“But if Russia ultimately wins in Ukraine, few doubt Moscow’s capacity to rearm completely within three to four years and cause trouble elsewhere,” the newspaper said. Against this backdrop, “alarm has grown as America has moved toward a more isolationist stance” on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the newspaper pointed out.

According to the daily, fears are being driven by the realization that “much of Europe’s industrial capacity to make weapons has eroded over years of budget cuts” after the end of the Cold War. Building up military capacity appears to be a “challenge” due to budget constraints amid slow economic growth in European countries and an aging population, the paper added. In addition, a significant proportion of citizens of European countries do not support the idea of financing military spending through cutting funding for social welfare benefits.

To illustrate the scale of the arms problem, the Wall Street Journal cites data showing that the military arsenal of the United Kingdom, considered Europe’s top defense spender, currently has only 150 tanks and about a dozen serviceable long-range artillery pieces. France, next in military spending, has “fewer than 90 heavy artillery pieces, equivalent to what Russia loses roughly every month” in the Ukraine war zone. As for Germany, the Bundeswehr has only enough ammunition for two days of fighting, the WSJ noted.

Top Ukrainian military commander Valery Zaluzhny acknowledged in an article published in The Economist in early November that the conflict had reached a “stalemate.” Later, in an interview with the same publication, he stated that Ukrainian troops would not be able to make a breakthrough on the front. According to him, a positional conflict of attrition could drag on for years and wear Ukraine down.

The Ukrainian army had been making unsuccessful attempts to conduct an offensive since June 4. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Kiev has lost more than 125,000 men and over 16,000 weapons in six months. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that Kiev’s offensive has failed to bring significant results to Ukraine. In recent weeks, the West and Kiev have repeatedly said that the “counteroffensive” has not been successful enough and that the situation on the front-line is a stalemate for the Ukrainian side.