MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Ukraine should not expect any free money from the United States in 2024, as it will only be able to to get loans, Alexey Goncharenko, a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, who was put on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists, said.

"As for money. It looks like this will be the last tranche of financial assistance to Ukraine [from the US]. We cannot count on money in 2024. Most likely, we will proceed to a loan-based format of cooperation. We can count on loans. Free assistance is ruled out," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Goncharenko, "no breakthrough concerning Ukraine can be anticipated" next year. "What should be understood about [US President Joe] Biden, who waited 50 years to become president before ultimately taking office, is that he is not a man of resolute action or strong steps. His key principle is do no harm," he explained.

The US administration, in his words, is likely to focus on its own domestic agenda in the coming year. "For the White House, it is important that Ukraine has survived, and this is already a win. And then, they will shift their attention to the domestic track and during the election campaign the attention will turn to the economy, healthcare and voter-centric topics," he noted.

US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on December 4 that the US administration has used 97% of the Congress-approved funds earmarked for assistance to Ukraine. On the same day, Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Biden administration, issued a letter to Congressional leadership warning that the US would run out of resources to help Ukraine by the end of the year, if the lawmakers turned down the administration’s financing draft.

In October, the US administration asked Congress to set aside extra budgetary funds for the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1, in assistance to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to contain China and Russia in the Asia Pacific region. In all, the US plans to spend around $106 billion for these purposes. Several House and Senate Republicans have spoken out against continuing financial assistance to Kiev. The Politico newspaper said on Monday that the Senate’s vote on assistance to Kiev, which is due on December 6, is likely to fail due to the Republicans’ position.