President Joe Biden, in a call Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, directly tied Ukraineās withdrawal from the key town of Avdiivka to Congressā inability to pass further aid for the countryās effort to fend off Russiaās invasion.
āThis morning, Ukraineās military was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka after Ukrainian soldiers had to ration ammunition due to dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction, resulting in Russiaās first notable gains in months. President Biden emphasized the need for Congress to urgently pass the national security supplemental funding bill to resupply Ukrainian forces,ā according to a White House readout of the call.
The call bookended a week defined by US attempts to reassert leadership on the world stage. It also highlighted renewed urgency to pass additional funds for Ukraine amid the withdrawal from Avdiivka, a key town that in recent months became one of the most fiercely contested battles on the eastern front, and the news of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalnyās death.
Israel was buying weapons with cash so didnāt need to go through Congress for money. If Ukraine showed up with cash, Biden could approve it too.
This is probably part of the reason thereās a push to let Ukraine use Russian sanctioned assets to pay for things
Pretty much the entire reason. They really donāt want to seize assets because thatās the carrot for Russia to end the war and go home. The weapons are the stick. Itās better to have a carrot and stick approach than selling off the carrots to buy more sticks.
Hadnāt looked at it that way before, thanks for the insight!
Thanks. Didnāt know that was a factor