VIENNA, February 9. /TASS/. Ukraine will face "fatal" consequences if the flow of US support runs dry, Colonel Markus Reisner, of the Austrian army, said in an interview with ORF TV channel.

"For Ukraine, the consequences could be fatal. Ukraine needs these resources in order to go on fighting. It needs not just ammunition and weapons, but financial resources to ensure the survival of the state," Reisner said.

Without international assistance, Kiev may "lose", the expert believes. Ukraine hopes to build up its military industry this year. Resources from the US and EU play a crucial role here, Reisner said.

The US government sent a request to Capitol Hill nearly four months ago for additional budgetary appropriations in the fiscal year 2024, which began in the United States on October 1, primarily to help Israel and Ukraine, as well as to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific Region. In all, the US executive branch of power, led by Democratic President Joe Biden, would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes.

The fate of the request and alternative bills remains uncertain. A group of Republicans in the House and Senate has spoken out in recent months against continuing financial aid to Kiev. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has consistently warned that he intended to link further aid to Ukraine to tighter control of the US southern border. Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has spoken out in a similar vein. The debate between the ruling Democratic and opposition Republican parties continues. The Senate has come up with a compromise version of the package bill, but the Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Johnson, emphatically rejected it.