On December 13, during his visit to the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Washington to provide long-range ATACMS missiles to Kiev.
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| US President Joe Biden (right) meets with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House on December 12. (Source: AP) |
In a conversation with US House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Zelensky asked for new missiles. The Ukrainian president stressed that the US needed more support and Kiev pledged to account for its spending to Washington.
For his part, Mr. Johnson reiterated the Republican Party's demand that additional aid to Kiev would only be implemented if Washington included border security measures in the new budget.
The White House began supplying ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in mid-October. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the US decision “another mistake.”
In early December, The Washington Post reported that the US provision of ATACMS missiles and cluster bombs had no significant impact on the conflict in Ukraine.
In October, US President Joe Biden submitted a $106 billion supplemental funding request to Congress , including $61 billion for Ukraine. In December, the total increased to nearly $111 billion when Democratic senators introduced a new bill.
However, last week, the request was blocked due to disagreement among lawmakers, with Republicans demanding that border security measures be included in the bill.
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