Zelenskyy is trying to maintain his U.S. support

Zelenskyy’s Cold War War with Ukraine: How Do Republicans Feel? The U.S. Help is Predictive of the Budget?

Zelenskyy was in the United States this week to assure Washington of his continued support. He knows he has President Biden’s support — with the two leaders meeting at the White House. And he knows Ukraine enjoys broad bipartisan backing in Congress.

Since the Russian invasion, no country has given more money toUkraine than the United States. There is another round of funding in the works, but it isn’t clear how it will affect the total aid to Ukraine.

But appetite to send new funds to Ukraine, among congressional lawmakers and the public alike, has begun to falter as the war enters its 20th month. The counteroffensive that began in June is still not quite good enough to meetUkraine’s stated goals, with just a month or two left before winter arrives.

$24 billion in aid has been asked of Congress by Biden. Congress is close to an end-of-month deadline to pass new spending or face a government shutdown and the funding has no obvious way to be passed in the near term.

The public is divided on the issue of additional aid. A CNN poll last month shows that a majority of Republicans and Democrats don’t like new funding.

Zelenskyy’s Visit to the U.S. After McCarthy’s Campaign for Ukraine: Securing His Western Flank, His u-S. Support

Zelenskyy’s visit comes the day after a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, where he urged the council to oust Russia as a permanent member. “Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the sovereign borders of nations,” he said.

Before the meeting, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy did not commit to more funding for the defense of Ukraine against Russia.

“Is Zelenskyy elected to Congress? Is he our president?” McCarthy asked. I have some questions for him. Where’s the accountability on the money we’ve already spent?

The episode may have changed McCarthy’s mind, or it may have been a part of McCarthy’s efforts to win over Republican lawmakers. Some of McCarthy’s caucus are more reluctant to fund Ukraine than they are to help the U.S. government.

Some right-wing lawmakers want an end to American funding. That faction has folded criticism of Ukraine into its various demands over the federal budget, which may cause a partial federal government shutdown after September 30.

Source: Securing his western flank, Zelenskyy bids to maintain his U.S. support

Zelenskyy and the U.S. Security Council: What do we really need to know before deciding how to fight the Russian occupation of Ukraine?

Zelenskyy spoke to Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep in New York on Wednesday shortly before he joined a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

In the sit-down interview, Zelenskyy insisted he is doing all he can to answer legitimate concerns about his administration’s conduct of the war. Days before traveling to the U.S., he removed the defense minister and numerous other senior leaders amid concerns about corruption.

He said that they had to be very strict and fast because they could lose the trust of their partners. Speaker McCarthy spoke about the move with him after their meeting.

Zelenskyy insisted that the scandal within the ministry was not connected to US aid in an interview with Morning Edition.

Other problems will need careful tending as the war goes on. Since early 2022, Ukrainians have lived under martial law, despite being positioned as a front line of democracy. Limits on large gatherings, restrictions on media and a delay in this fall’s parliamentary elections are included in the response to Russia’s invasion.

Zelenskyy did not state in the interview why he wouldn’t hold a presidential election in 2024. He said he would be happy to hold a vote, but only after the many problems of balloting in a war zone were resolved.

He insisted that Ukraine remains a “free country” that shares basic democratic values with the United States. He explained that the reason they were fighting against Russia was because of that.

Zelenskyy also faces periodic suggestions that he eventually will have to negotiate with Russia, but has insisted on a complete Russian withdrawal before discussing anything. He said it was impossible to trust the word of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The NPR team in Ukranian solicited several of the questions from the Ukrainians. A soldier in uniform was married this week. The young couple said they worried about the future, but were in love, said they would “overcome everything” and they wanted to start a family. Zelenskyy was moved by what he saw.

Zelenskyy said they had spoken “such strong words.” Such people showed why “we will win,” he added. “What can I say? I will be there with them.

The radio version of this story was produced by Lisa Weiner and edited by Ally Schweitzer. Anton Loboda was the Ukrainian interpreter. The digital version was edited by Treye Green.