White House urges House Speaker to free up path for Ukraine aid

Bloomberg News
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 4:10 p.m. | Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 4:10 p.m.

Firefighters put out the fire at a railway station Sunday after Russian shelling in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine. A woman was wounded and a railway station, shops and residential houses were badly damaged amid heavy bombing.

President Joe Biden’s top national security aide pressed House Republicans to unlock assistance to Ukraine and acknowledged that Russia’s wartime economy has shown resilience.

U.S. emergency aid to Ukraine, the country’s main lifeline against recent Russian advances on the battlefield, has been stuck for months as Republican congressional leaders seek to force Biden’s hand on border security and immigration policies. With the war entering its third year, Group of Seven leaders including Biden sought to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of their commitment in a call on Saturday.

“We need money to be able to provide the weapons to Ukraine. We don’t have the money,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Only Congress can provide the money. So that’s the reality.”

WATCH: As Ukraine marks the 2nd anniversary of Russia’s invasion, NSA @JakeSullivan46 says it can still win the war if the U.S. provides more aid.

“Ukraine can go further in retaking territory … but it can only do so if it has the tools that it needs.” pic.twitter.com/ruxNNLFNs4

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 25, 2024

He called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to “bust through the politics in his caucus” and put Biden’s request for more than $60 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine to a floor vote.

Last week, the U.S. unveiled the biggest single package of sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine two years ago, a 200-page list of targets based in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, China and other countries. Yet the Biden administration stopped short of targeting metals, more energy-related penalties and secondary sanctions on banks, reflecting concern about setting off broad shocks that could also harm the U.S. economy.

Even under sanctions by the U.S. and its allies, Russia’s economy grew for the third consecutive year in 2023 as its shift to a war economy buoyed industrial production.

“It is true that the Russian economy has in terms of its war machine been resilient, and we need to keep chipping away at it,” Sullivan said on Fox News Sunday. “We’ve got to be relentless.”

Sanctions following the death of Alexei Navalny aim to “drive down Russia’s access to revenue,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan tells @MarthaRaddatz.

“The war chest that Putin has had since before this war began—he is depleting it month by month.” https://t.co/HyirE6pTpW pic.twitter.com/BPBlfeDL94

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 25, 2024