MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Washington's latest appropriation of funds for military aid to Ukraine will only drag out the conflict and result in fresh casualties among Ukrainians, Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and chair of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) International Affairs Committee, wrote on his Telegram channel.
"New billions in US military aid will lead to the prolongation of the conflict and new victims among Ukrainians, prolonging the agony of the ruling clique in Kiev. But it will have no effect whatsoever on the final outcome. Even Poland’s ardently russophobic President Andrzej Duda is already expressing doubts about the possibility of defeating Russian troops. And it's not so much about Kiev's lack of weapons, but something else entirely - Russia cannot be defeated!" the parliamentarian emphasized.
According to Slutsky, the White House is crudely trying to influence the opinion of voters, ignoring growing public opinion against US sponsorship of the Ukrainian leadership.
Earlier, the Polish president said in an interview with the Washington Post that Kiev’s stockpile of Western-donated weapons will not enable Ukraine to conduct a successful offensive and gain an advantage on the battlefield.
US funding for Ukraine
Earlier, the Associated Press cited a source as saying that US President Joe Biden intended to send a request to the US Congress to appropriate $13 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine. Additionally, Bloomberg quoted a source as saying that the US administration plans to request lawmakers approve additional funding of at least $25 billion for various needs. About $13 billion of this sum will be spent on defense spending and assistance to Kiev, while $12 billion will be earmarked for emergency management of the consequences of natural disasters within US borders. The source emphasized that these funds would not be subject to budgetary restrictions.
In turn, US National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a briefing that the Biden administration would push Congress to continue military aid to Ukraine regardless of public opinion in American society. This was his response to a question on the prospects for continued support for Ukraine in light of the results of a CNN public opinion poll showing that 55% of Americans oppose the provision of additional aid to Kiev by the US Congress. It also revealed that 51% of Americans believe that the United States has already done enough for Ukraine.
Last spring, Washington allocated $40 billion to provide Kiev with various assistance, including military and economic aid. In early October, Biden signed a bill that included $12.4 billion in additional aid to Ukraine. In December, the US budget for fiscal year 2023 was approved, providing $44.9 billion for various assistance to Ukraine and Washington's NATO allies.
In June of this year, US House of Representatives (lower house) Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that any additional aid to Ukraine should be included in the Pentagon's $998 billion 2024 budget for Ukraine, agreed as part of a bill signed by Biden to raise the national debt ceiling.