In an interview that aired on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US Congress to authorize further help for Kyiv, stating that doing otherwise will cost Ukrainian lives.
The ratification of $60 billion in new funding for Ukraine has been delayed by Republican MPs in the House of Representatives. Zelensky reiterated his call for action in an appearance with Fox News, a station that US conservatives prefer.
“Will Ukraine survive without Congress’ support? Of course. But not all of us,” Zelensky told Fox’s Bret Baier in an interview near a front line in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader also warned that the price of helping Kyiv now is much lower than the potential cost of confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin later if he succeeds in Ukraine.
The United States is by far Kyiv’s largest donor, having given the country military aid totaling tens of billions of dollars. However, fresh financing has been delayed by the House friends of outgoing president Donald Trump, and existing funding has dried up.
Trump, who is expected to be the Republican nominee for president in November, is against aiding Kyiv and recently used his influence to thwart a package intended to overhaul the US border that would have also permitted more aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that he was ready to take Trump to the frontlines in Ukraine, saying policy makers should see what real war entails.
