Summer, ward

Zelensky’s visit to the United States showed: Congress began to doubt, but his majority and President Biden are ready to continue to help Ukraine

Vladimir Zelensky for the second time in a year arrived on a visit to the United States. And now the Ukrainian president “Live” (and not according to the video Moscow) spoke from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, and then spoke at a special meeting of the Security Council.

In December last year, Zelensky, as an honorary guest, made a speech before the full composition of both chambers of Congress. This time he also met with American lawmakers, but behind closed doors and separately - with the leaders of the House of Representatives and approximately seventy senators. The local observers called the trip the “most important in the political career” of the Ukrainian president. We are talking about the further provision of American military and financial assistance. But the problem arose with this.

During the meeting, Biden announced the allocation of another 325 million dollars of military assistance, including more artillery, ammunition, anti -tank weapons. Next week, the first American Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine. “We also focused on strengthening the capabilities of the air defense of Ukraine to protect the critically important infrastructure, which provides heat and light on the coldest and most dark days of the year,” Baiden promised.

“325 million is a fourth help package that the United States is announced in six weeks,” said the senior director of the National Security Council on Europe, Amanda Sliator on the air of NBC, adding that air defense “is the most important potential that Ukrainians need now.” The new package will not include large -range ballistic missiles equipped with cassette ammunition. At the same time, the official noted that Biden does not exclude the provision of them in the future.

For 10 months, the number of skeptics who believe that help should be limited, or even stopped completely, has increased markedly - against the background of the current situation at the front and a certain “fatigue” of the local voter from this topic. The recent CNN survey showed that

• 51% of respondents said that the United States has "done enough" to help Ukraine,

• 48% want America to do more.

For comparison, the Fox News survey (by the way, the news-bomb: on Thursday, the Return of the head of the FOX Corporation Rupert Murdok was announced) showed that

• 56% of Americans say that the United States should be done less to help Ukraine.

• 14% of Republican voters believe that more should be given

• 27% say that the country gives a sufficient volume.

In a letter from the Biden administration (to the budget department), sent on the day Zelensky arrived to Washington, more

Two dozen republican lawmakers said they would oppose the new package of assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 24 billion requested by the President

(325 million help is a separate tranche that does not related to these billions that lawmakers should approve).

According to the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, Congress authorized the allocation of military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 111 billion in a year and a half of hostilities.

In the letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, legislators quote the Biden administration about the “unlimited obligation to support Ukraine”. “The American people deserve to know what his money has gone for,” the lawmakers wrote. While lawmakers do not receive answers, they will vote against new money for Kyiv. The letter was signed by six senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives, led by Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio and a member of the House of Representatives Chip Roem from Texas.

Let me remind you that in December last year, only Trump and Trumpists were against the help of Ukraine. Then several people deliberately read their smartphones when Zelensky spoke on the Capitol Hill, and did not stand up with the rest of the hall during applause.

However, so far the majority in both chambers of Congress for supporters of continuing assistance.

When a member of the House of Representatives Matt Gait (Republican from Florida) in July proposed an amendment prohibiting the increase in assistance to Ukraine, she gained 70 votes of the Republicans - this is only about a third of their faction (not most or even half). When asked what he would like to hear from Zelensky during his visit, the Gazeta replied: "That he sends our money back."

“I appreciate bravado and all that, but we have no money,” said the Republican of Tim Bermett from Tennessee, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “We are ruined and distribute our money.” Even supporters of assistance to Ukraine said that they were not tolerant of finding out more details about Zelensky's plan. “He asks us to pay for this, so I think that he really will have to explain with people who are skeptical,” said Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, who can be called an anti -trampist. Trump, I recall, promised, if he became president again, "to finish everything at 24 hours." True, without explaining how.

Last Thursday, when Zelensky held meetings at the Capitol, in the Pentagon (with the Minister of Defense Austin and resigning the head of the United Headquarters Mark Milli) and negotiations in the White House with Baydeen, the Washington Post newspaper called a hurricane for him. The bets were high. If the Washington political bomond doubts this issue (and this seems to be the already current trend), then how Baiden can convince the allies so that they continue to help Ukraine with weapons and money.

If you generally analyze Zelensky’s trip to America, it was clearly divided into two parts:

• New York and the UN, where Zelensky spoke to the tribune consisting of leaders of states and international organizations, and thus made assistance to Ukraine one of the main points of the conditional “world agenda”;

• Washington, where he encountered a “real” American politician, its backstage, where they calculate the ratings and look for compromise transactions. The second part of the visit was much more difficult.

If we talk about compromises, then 24 billion for Ukraine supporters of continuation of help want to make an application to a resolution on financing the entire American government. And if it is not adopted by Congress in the coming days, the United States is waiting for the next “Shatdown” (stopping public services due to underfunding) from October 1. 24 billion may be excluded from the bill in order to achieve the approval of conservatives and ensure financing the government, albeit at the expense of money for Ukraine. This is a real American policy where, in order to achieve something, it is necessary to yield in something. The White House said that in this case it would be to seek the allocation of this money through the Congress before the end of the year.

As Los Angeles Times notes, all six deputy defense ministers were dismissed from his posts on Monday, two weeks after the president changed the Minister of Defense Alexei Reznikov, who was in this post during 19 months of military operations. Such steps, the local experts note, are undesirable for any leader who heads the country in the midst of a military battle: permutations in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, are believed to be “fears about corruption in the field of military procurement”. This is what American opponents of continuation of help, demanding from Ukrainians "transparency and reporting."

From the UN stands, President Biden and Zelensky were “begged” (the definition of Los Angeles Times) of world leaders to confront Russia.

“Russia believes that the world will get tired,” said the US President. “But I ask you: if we abandon the basic principles of the UN Charter, <...> can any state be able to feel confident that it is protected?” - emphasized Biden.

In the fields of the General Assembly, he met with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. According to representatives of the administration, this meeting was “first of its kind” at the level of leaders. This is what should be discussed in the evening television, and not discuss the reservations of the 80-year-old president of America. However, everyone has their own tasks.

At the UN, Vladimir Zelensky, speaking of the “inefficiency” of the current organization, the need to reform the Security Council and the opportunity to overcome the veto, knew that this was not feasible in the present reality. In Washington, he has a concrete task - to convince American politicians to continue help. He cannot help but understand that any president - a democrat or republican - does not want the United States direct involvement in military operations, which American voters begin to seem "endless."

At the UN, Biden urged the world to help Ukraine, but in Washington, reality is more difficult. On the eve of the sixth personal meeting of Biden and Zelensky, the representative of the National Security Council, John Kirby, told reporters that no decision was made to supply Ukraine with American tactical missiles, known as ATACMS, which Zelensky has been asking for many months.

At the meetings of Zelensky in Congress, on the one hand, many senators lined up to take a picture with him, on the other hand -

Speaker Kevin McCarthy refused to gather the House of Representatives on this occasion, where, I repeat, the number of opponents of continuing money assistance to Kyiv is slowly but steadily growing.

The speaker said that Zelensky "already performed" in front of both chambers.

Zelensky seems to have done everything he could in Washington. According to two senators present in the hall, he spoke English, without the use of translators. After the meetings in the White House with Bayden-“face to face” (only the adviser Sullivan and the Secretary of State Blinken) and in the expanded composition (with Vice President Kamala Harris and some ministers)-Zelensky thanked the United States for a smaller help package and transferred five “important results” of his visit:

QUOTE

From the statement of Vladimir Zelensky:

“Firstly, we agreed to work on the future of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is very important. This is a strategic solution <...>.

Secondly, we have reached a new agreement that will strengthen the defense capacity of Ukraine. Details will be announced in the near future ...

Thirdly, I thank the United States and the president for the new defense package for Ukraine. A very powerful package <...> It has exactly what our soldiers need now ...

Fourth, the United States will help Ukraine in strengthening our air defense during this winter season ...

Fifth, we agreed on specific steps to expand the export of grain from Ukraine <...> many thanks not only for this point, but also for all these points. ”

Zelensky departed to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and in Washington they will solve the problem of Kyiv $ 24 billion. According to the local media, the congress has enough votes in both wards, despite the objections from the minority of the Republicans. However, the chances of a quick adoption of the package may be small due to disputes among the Republicans on state expenses. According to Newsweek, the continuation of US military aid can be more important for the military efforts of Ukraine than ever, since Kyiv seems to have lost the military assistance of Poland, a key European ally after disputes about grain export.

Washington

PS

On Friday, the NBC News television channel with reference to three sources in the White House reported that President Biden promised Zelensky to provide Ukraine with a small number of long -range missiles - ATACMS systems. NBC sources did not report when the missiles were delivered to Ukraine and when this information is officially confirmed.