US State Department Rebukes Congress for Failing to Pass Ukraine Aid Funding

Matthew Miller, a US State Department spokesperson, expressed the disappointment shared by the President over Congress's failure to pass funding for what he described as “desperately needed” support to Ukraine.

“I’d like to echo the president’s disappointment that, despite longstanding and strong bipartisan support for Ukraine as it fights back against Russia’s invasion, that the continuing resolution that passed Congress on Saturday did not include desperately needed support,” Miller is reported as saying by CNN during a press briefing.

He also went on to explain that while the United States can continue assisting Ukraine in the short term by providing equipment from its own stockpiles, through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, critical funding channels like the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and the Foreign Military Sales system are running low on resources.

“If we allow authoritarians like President Putin to do whatever they want to other sovereign countries, then the whole UN charter will be shredded, and we are going to live in a world where this kind of aggression can happen anywhere, anytime,” Miller said. 

The future of US aid for Ukraine hangs in the balance after a last-gasp deal to avoid a government shutdown.

Barely a week after President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington appealing for more funds, the compromise struck in Congress late Sunday dropped new funding for Ukraine amid opposition from hardline Republicans. 

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