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US President Joe Biden called his key allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued US support for Ukraine, even as the latest political turmoil in Washington increasingly threatens military aid to Kiev.

Biden spoke with Western leaders to calm their nerves, after additional aid to Ukraine was not included in the temporary budget law approved by the US Congress to avoid a government shutdown last Saturday (30 /9), amid opposition from the most radical members of the party. the Republican Party.

However, the hopes of Biden – a Democratic Party politician – to quickly pass a new bill to help Ukraine collapsed shortly after the US House of Representatives impeached Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representatives, after being triggered by a motion. to abandon the position proposed by hard-line members of the Republican camp.

As political unrest threatens to stall the legislative process, Biden is pushing for a new House speaker to be named as soon as possible to address the “urgent challenges facing our nation,” the White House said.

The US president previously summoned the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the European Union, NATO and Minister French Foreign Affairs.

“President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, with other leaders also expressing their commitment,” the White House said.

“Not on our side”

But the White House itself has clearly emphasized the urgency of the situation.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned that if additional aid is not approved, existing funds to help Ukraine fight Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion will not would only last “a few months”.

“Time is not on our side,” Kirby told reporters. Losing funding would not only hurt Ukraine on the battlefield, but would also “make Putin think he can wait.”

The Pentagon said it could continue to meet Ukraine’s military needs “a little longer” with previously approved aid.

Allies quickly responded to that call with a show of unity with Biden, whose country is by far the largest provider of aid to Ukraine.

Washington has provided more than $43 billion in military aid to Kiev since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Congress has approved a total of $113 billion in aid, including humanitarian aid .

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said Biden “wanted to reassure his allies of America’s continued support for Ukraine” after the government shutdown drama.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked Biden for his “leadership” and added that Western support would continue “as long as necessary”.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg “stressed the importance of continued support for Ukraine” and added that alliance members “share the burden fairly.”

“An indispensable country”

Russia has commented harshly on the chaos in Washington. The Kremlin said on Monday (2/10) that war fatigue or the sense of war weariness among Western countries will grow due to uncertainty over US support for Ukraine.

Biden said the United States’ global role was at stake. Taking to social media, he said: “We are the most needed country in the world – let’s act like it.” »

Aid to Ukraine now appears poised to become hostage to U.S. politics a year before the election, when the hard-line wing of the Republican Party that ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has made stopping aid flows to Ukraine one of the main points on his agenda.

The chaos ensued after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington last September to call for continued support.

Opposition among radical Republicans has grown more than a year and a half since the Russian invasion, including among voters.

An ABC/Washington Post poll released September 24 showed that 41 percent of respondents thought the United States was doing too much to support Ukraine. This figure is up from 33% recorded in February 2023 and 14% in April 2022.

Doubts about the unity of Western countries have also increased after Slovakia last weekend elected populist leader Robert Fico – who has promised to end its military support for Ukraine – as its new prime minister. country. [rd/rs]