Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he briefed House Speaker Mike Johnson two times last year on the country’s urgent need for wartime aid to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Zelenskyy said he met with the speaker, President Joe Biden and various members of Congress behind closed doors, all of whom assured him there would be additional U.S. support by the end of the year.
“We had a meeting behind closed doors. They all agreed, 100 percent — those who were at that meeting— they were saying, ‘There will be support, believe us, by the end of the year,’” Zelenskyy told PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz in an exclusive interview in Ukraine.
The Senate passed a $95 billion aid package more than two months ago that included $60 billion in security assistance for Ukraine. The measure also includes funds for Israel and Taiwan. But the aid has since stalled in the House, where Johnson faces opposition within his own party over the additional funding for Ukraine.
Johnson has said he’d consider legislation that turned some of the funding into loans, a decision Zelenskyy said he was open to.
“We need to survive, and we need to defend our people,” he said, reiterating the urgency of the request.
“The ball is on your field,” he added. “Please just make a decision.”
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