Secretary of State Antony Blinken is confident Congress will maintain military aid for Ukraine, arguing Wednesday that key Republicans believe if Russian President Vladimir Putin triumphs, it will be “open season for would-be aggressors anywhere.”
Mr. Blinken, speaking to ABC News on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul are vocal champions for Ukraine, even as other House Republicans question whether it’s worth spending billions more on the slow-moving fight against Russian invaders.
The secretary of state said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has an opportunity to remind holdout lawmakers “what the stakes are” as the Kyiv leader makes the rounds in New York and visits Washington Thursday.
“This is not just the right thing to do because of the horrific abuses that Russia is committing in Ukraine; it’s the necessary thing to do,” Mr. Blinken said. “Because if we allow Putin to get away with this, then it is going to be open season for would-be aggressors anywhere.”
President Biden made a similar point on the first day of the U.N. assembly as he contends with growing skepticism in Washington and in capitals in the developing world over aid and military support for Ukraine as the war reaches the 19-month mark.
“If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?” Mr. Biden said in his speech to world leaders in Manhattan.
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Mr. Zelenskyy, in visits to the White House and Congress, will plead for ongoing support. U.S. aid is at a crossroads as Congress struggles to approve spending bills needed to keep the government open.
The White House has requested an additional $24 billion for Ukraine aid from Congress. Some Republicans want to cut off funding or see Europe take the lead in footing the bill. Others want a closer auditing of where the money is going.
The Biden administration says Ukraine showed early success by repelling Russia’s bid to take Kyiv within days. It says the Ukrainian military has taken territory back from Russia and the stakes are too high to pull the plug on aid.
“The rest of the world is watching what’s happening in Ukraine,” Mr. Blinken said. “And those who may have designs on their neighbors, as Putin had with Ukraine, are looking to see what happens. And if he gets away with it, they say: Maybe I can get away with it. And that’s a recipe for a world full of conflict, and that’s never good for the United States.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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