Additional Ukraine Aid Is ‘Smart and Necessary’ and ‘in Our Own Interest,’ Secretary of State Says
Administration looking for Republican House to OK additional $24 billion
Continuing assistance to Ukraine not only “smart and necessary,” but also in US interests to do so, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken’s remarks come as the Biden administration is pressuring Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to ensure the approval of more than $24 billion in additional funding for the US effort to support Ukraine in its ongoing battle against Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion.
The United States has been leading a coalition of allies which are providing Ukraine with military gear and other assistance.
The United States has provided more than $76 million in weapons, humanitarian aid and other support as Ukraine seeks to counter Russian leader Vladimir Putin's unprovoked aggression.
“And I think it's very clear to us and to many in Congress that this additional assistance is something that Ukraine needs in this moment to continue to carry out the counteroffensive to regain its territory, as well as to strengthen its defense, its military going forward,” Blinken said over the weekend. “It's not only the right thing to do. It's the smart and necessary thing to do in our own interests, because, as we have said from Day One, if we allow this Russian aggression to go forward with impunity, it's not just Ukrainians who are suffering, it's virtually everyone around the world who relies on the principles that are at the heart of the U.N. Charter, including that one big country can't simply trample on the borders of another, invade it and try to take it over.
“Because if we allow that to go forward with impunity, if we don't stand up against that, then it's open season everywhere around the world,” he added. “I have heard [Senate Minority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell speak very powerfully to this, other colleagues on the House side, like Chairman Mike McCaul of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. So, we have had a strong bipartisan partnership with Congress throughout. I would expect that to continue.”
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