After months of hesitation, political infighting and rancorous debate, the U.S. Congress passed a massive Ukraine funding bill with a bipartisan majority. The deal was done, and a dangerously divided Republican majority smiled nervously.
The Democrats and the Biden administration cheered, many holding little blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags on the House floor. But before signing a transatlantic rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” let’s view the realistic options both Washington and the Europeans faced in aiding Ukraine or not supporting Kyiv.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson did the right thing in finally bringing the package to the floor, yet the vote was on each element of the assistance package, which Biden had lumped together in a $95 billion mega-bundle.
Each segment was voted on individually: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Asia. Still, the controversial American aid will not win the Ukraine war, but it does give Ukraine the chance to win. It equally underlines American credibility.
The $62 billion assistance will help stabilize the situation on what is certainly the eve of a major Russian offensive by June. Getting more munitions and supplies to Ukrainian front-line units will significantly boost the sagging morale of defending units which have been pummeled by relentless Russian artillery barrages. Importantly, more air defense will be provided to protect Ukrainian skies from Russian attacks on civilian centers. This is all warranted.
The big issue here is morale. More than two years into the conflict, the heady days of bloodying the Russian Goliath and having a chance to win the war have turned into sullen despair as Moscow’s military does what it does best: use the sledgehammer despite hideous causalities to wear down an opponent. Ukraine is bleeding, and the perception was that the Americans and Europeans were talking a good line but not delivering munitions to bloody the bear.
Now, has this changed? Yes and no. Even prior to the new funding the United States has already provided $100 billion in military aid to the Kyiv government. More European aid must now flow forth too!
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy admonished NATO defense ministers, saying, “The choice of whether we are indeed allies” will be determined by whether NATO countries are willing to support his beleaguered country with more military aid. He described the state of Western assistance as “very limited” but later hailed the “lifesaving U.S. aid package.”
The United States, Germany and Britain are Ukraine’s major weapons suppliers. New American military aid includes air defense systems, long-range missiles and artillery shells.
The bill now goes to the Senate for likely approval.
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, dealing with a serious political revolt in his own party, called Marjorie Taylor Green’s bluff and went ahead with the vote. That took courage. While Johnson was supported by former President Donald Trump and obviously by Joe Biden, he lost support from half the GOP members who voted against the bill, including powerhouses like Elise Stefanik (R-NY). The final vote tally was a bittersweet 311-112.
Though the GOP has been divided with a razor-thin political majority, the right flank, or "chaos caucus," may try to dump Mike Johnson (as they foolishly did McCarthy) and paddle toward the isolationist islands.
Feuding factions inside the Republican Party have hobbled the Ukraine vote, but the far deeper and more malevolent warring factions inside the Democratic party delayed Israel/Gaza military aid for six months. The Israel aid passed, too, but notably with opposition from the Squad and the hard-left Palestine caucus.
Mainstream media mendacity toward the GOP concerning Ukraine was put in simplistic terms that somehow the Republicans did not want to help embattled Ukraine in its fight for survival against Russia. Well, not quite.
Johnson and the Republicans realize that if Ukraine falls apart and collapses during a presidential election year, the mainstream media will craft the narrative as a “GOP Lost Ukraine.” But who lost the Crimea a decade ago? Getting away with Crimea, to use the phrase, “is what really emboldened Putin.” He assumed he could grab more, and he tried in 2022.
Polish President Andrzej Duda stressed on Fox News that “Support is indispensable for Ukraine.”
Indeed. Now, Ukraine must ramp up its own troop conscription to begin to offset Russia’s numerical superiority. Kyiv passed a controversial new military conscription bill focusing on basic military training for those aged 18 to 25.
The U.S. and NATO can send Kyiv the weapons but Ukraine must field the military forces to defend themselves. The hour is critical.
John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of “Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China.”
Ukraine: missiles, morale and credibility
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30.04.2024
After months of hesitation, political infighting and rancorous debate, the U.S. Congress passed a massive Ukraine funding bill with a bipartisan majority. The deal was done, and a dangerously divided Republican majority smiled nervously.
The Democrats and the Biden administration cheered, many holding little blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags on the House floor. But before signing a transatlantic rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” let’s view the realistic options both Washington and the Europeans faced in aiding Ukraine or not supporting Kyiv.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson did the right thing in finally bringing the package to the floor, yet the vote was on each element of the assistance package, which Biden had lumped together in a $95 billion mega-bundle.
Each segment was voted on individually: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Asia. Still, the controversial American aid will not win the Ukraine war, but it does give Ukraine the chance to win. It equally underlines American credibility.
The $62 billion assistance will help stabilize the situation on what is certainly the eve of a major Russian offensive by June. Getting more munitions and supplies to Ukrainian front-line units will significantly boost the sagging........
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