MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. The new package of military assistance from Washington, which has recently been announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will not be able to reverse the situation in the zone of combat operations but will only help the Ukrainians go on a little longer, a Ukrainian lawmaker said.
The package "is only intended to keep us going for a little while longer, but it is not able to change the situation on the battlefield in our favor or even enable us to resist effectively," Yegor Chernev, a deputy chairman of the national security, defense and intelligence committee of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament), told The Washington Post newspaper.
According to the lawmaker, such a small aid package is seen as evidence "that there are problems with the support of Ukraine from the US." "We still believe that these problems are temporary and will be resolved very soon," he said, adding that assistance from the United States "is the only factor on which it depends how long the war will last and how it will end."
On December 27, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this year’s final package of weapons worth $250 mln for Ukraine. It includes additional projectiles for NASAMS mobile anti-aircraft missile systems and HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, Stinger man-portable air defense systems and components for other air defense systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, AT-4, TOW and Javelin anti-tank missile systems, more than 15 mln of cartridges for small arms, "demolition ammunition for removing obstacles," spare parts, and other military equipment.
According to the US Department of State, Washington has provided Kiev with military aid worth $44.3 bln since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
The White House submitted to Congress in October a supplemental finding request for the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the US on October 1, primarily to help Israel and Ukraine, but also to contain China and Russia in the Asia Pacific regiion. In total, the executive branch, led by Democrat Biden, would like to have about $106 billion for these purposes.
The future of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently spoken out against continued financial aid to Kiev.
After the beginning of Russia’s special military operation, Ukraine’s Western partners have considerably increased weapons supplies to Kiev. However, Ukraine keeps on asking for more weapons and munitions. In recent time, the Western media have been raising the topic of the partners’ fatigue of the Ukrainian conflict and pending aid cuts.