At a time when Radical Republicans in the United States (US) Senate are opposed to providing more assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky visited Washington on December 11-12, 2023 to meet with US President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.
In a statement, the White House stated that US President Joe Biden invited Zelensky to the country in order to convince the Republicans in the Senate. Tuesday August 12, 2023 Zelensky also addressed the US senators on the morning of.
In the United States, Republicans are trying to link the Ukrainian aid to immigration reforms at the southern border of the United States. In addition to support for Israel and Ukraine, demands for border reform are rejected by Republicans. These meetings took place at a time when Biden was trying to rally support for a $106 billion military aid plan, mostly aimed at Ukraine and Israel. Republicans have abandoned a secret session involving aid to Ukraine over demands for border reform.
The Ukrainian Presidential Office explained that the main areas of discussion during the meeting with Biden were defense cooperation and, in particular, the production of weapons and air defense systems. Biden warns of the risk of weakening US support for Ukraine.
Western support for Ukraine has been damaged due to factors such as Kiev’s June offensive failing to make significant progress, Russia deploying more troops and increasing air strikes against Ukraine’s infrastructure as winter arrives.We can say that the United States has two options here. The first is to help Ukraine maintain the achievements it has achieved and to ensure that Russia continues to experience a strategic failure in Ukraine. The second is to let Ukraine down in a way that will allow Russia to triumph.
The effects of the internal political crisis in the White House can profoundly affect Europe and even Asia-Pacific. In the United States, both Democrats and Republicans may have begun to think that Russia will win this war, and therefore it will be useless to provide further support to Ukraine. [1] According to the latest polls conducted in the USA; the opinion that the support for Ukraine is more than necessary prevails. [2] It is estimated that Ukraine does not have the ammunition and resources to continue fighting and will eventually be forced to declare a ceasefire. On the other hand, it is stated that Russia does not have such a problem.
Despite this negative atmosphere regarding Ukraine, Russia’s victory will also be perceived as the “defeat of the West”. In this context, the United States and Britain believe that if Ukraine loses the war, Russia will create new crises in its immediate geography. At this point, Republicans are trying to disrupt the Biden administration’s plans for Ukraine in order to win this year’s elections and weaken the democrats. If Biden cannot make Ukraine win the war and Russia continues its advance into Europe, the chances of democrats winning the next elections will decrease.
Former US President Donald Trump was also in favor of making a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Announcing his candidacy for re-election in the upcoming elections, Trump reiterated his claim that he will end the Russia-Ukraine War in less than a day. Based on this, it can be said that Republicans support Ukraine’s sitting at the negotiating table with Russia under the current conditions. The United States may want to solve this problem quickly, even if Ukraine loses territory.
Because Washington is lagging in focusing on the fight against China with the prolongation of the war in Ukraine. Continuing the war with Russia causes all the attention to be focused on the security of Europe. The Biden administration invited Zelensky to his country and asked him to explain the latest situation in the war to the Senate. American senators may approve the new aid package, taking into account Zelensky’s calls. But it can be said that the United States has begun to question how it benefits from these aid in general. Democrats associate American national interests with the security of the European continent. Republicans, on the other hand, are conducting a cost-benefit analysis on Europe’s security and want to receive support from Europe at the rate they contribute.
The United States wants Europe to turn away from Ukraine as soon as possible and focus on China in the Asia-Pacific. It is predicted that the war in Ukraine will come to an end at least in 2024. Democrats or Republicans are dominated by the view that sooner or later Zelensky should sit down at the cease-fire table. It has become clear that this war is not sustainable. Ukraine aims to sit at the diplomatic table in a victorious way. However, the developments on the ground show that this is not possible.
[1] “Nearly Half Of US Voters Think Joe Biden Is Spending Too Much On Ukraine Aid”, FT, https://www.ft.com/content/6e10d54c-9cee-4361-b85b-0bf57e80f16c?shareType=nongift, (Date Accesion: 08.12.2023).
[2] Ibıd.
