Zelensky tells Speaker Johnson Ukraine aid won’t run out until February — despite White House claims
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that military aid for Ukraine won’t run out for the next few months — directly contradicting comments from the White House about funding drying up.
Zelensky told Johnson that US military assistance wouldn’t be needed until as late as February and that the gesture of support was more important for morale than battlefield readiness, a source familiar with the meeting told The Post.
The Ukrainian president made the same remarks later that evening on Fox News.
Zelensky insisted on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that the $106 billion national security supplemental bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the US border was “not about financing” but, rather, “morality.”
“What I said to Mr. Speaker today, that was our first meeting, I said to him that decision in December about support, decision in January, decision in February — it’s not a big difference between it. It’s not about financing; it’s about the morality,” Zelensky said.
“The biggest problem when you don’t support Ukraine, yeah, that people on the frontline, families that are waiting for their heroes at home that they think the United States doesn’t support Ukraine, and that Ukraine is alone defending our common values for the United States and Europe.”
But the White House warned Congress last week that funding for Ukraine’s war against Russia would expire at the end of the month.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young in a Dec. 2 letter to Johnson said there was “no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money—and nearly out of time.”
In an apparent attempt to sweeten the deal, Young had cited potential contracts being awarded to companies in swing states, listing many that were governed by Republicans or leaned that way.
President Biden floated the national security package in October, setting up a fight with congressional Republicans who argued the foreign military aid should be conditioned on long-sought changes to US border security.
He criticized Republicans on Tuesday for deliberating over the $61.4 billion for Ukraine aid, calling it “the greatest Christmas gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess — before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him,” he said before meeting Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Senate Republicans are still hashing out some of the proposed changes — including reforms to asylum and parole policies — but have been unable to reach a deal with Democrats as the holiday recess rapidly approaches this week.
Johnson in a Monday statement also noted the White House has “failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine, a path to resolving the conflict, or a plan for adequately ensuring accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers.”
“Meanwhile, the Administration is continually ignoring the catastrophe at our own border,” he said.
“House Republicans have resolved that any national security supplemental package must begin with our own border. We believe both issues can be agreed upon if Senate Democrats and the White House will negotiate reasonably.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told The Post he does not expect negotiations to stretch into the holiday season and that “nobody’s coming back” to vote on Biden’s supplemental bill for the foreseeable future.
“Zelensky was on a program last night saying that there’s no urgency until February. And I don’t think the Senate is right now working on it,” he said.
“I think Chuck Schumer has kind of thrown up his hands because, obviously, their whole thing was the emergency was the end of this month.”
