Ukraine’s armed forces could soon be forced to retreat further if U.S. military aid continues to be delayed, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as he called on Washington to provide more long-range missiles to strike airfields in occupied Crimea.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson held a phone call on March 28, Zelensky announced on social media.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is likely introducing a Ukraine aid bill after Easter, facing potential challenges due to internal party dynamics.
The Republican who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Michael McCaul, said on March 24 that he anticipates Speaker Mike Johnson to introduce a Ukraine aid bill after Easter, even though it may pose a risk of losing support for a leadership vote against him.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed on March 23 a $1.2 trillion spending package that keeps the government funded until the autumn after it cleared Congress hours earlier.
In total, at least 45 people were killed in the capital, and more than 130 were wounded by Russian attacks over the winter of 2023-2024.
A two-week Easter recess is scheduled to begin on March 23 and extend until April 8, likely adding further delays to any potential votes on the issue.
During his surprise visit to Kyiv on March 20, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan vowed that the United States would deliver a $60 billion aid package to Ukraine despite its current impasse in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
"We can't let Ukraine go through this, if it comes through the spring and we haven't helped Ukraine, God help us," Senator Joe Manchin said onstage during Axios' annual What's Next Summit.
The $300 million was the first tranche of U.S. aid since December 2023 and was only something that the Pentagon was "able to find" based on savings from already completed contracts, General Pat Ryder said.
The U.S. Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General on March 19 announced that it had launched a website to track U.S. military and other assistance to Ukraine.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has called on the U.S. presidential administration to support Russia's inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with Politico on March 14 that he expects to pass a future Ukraine aid bill with Democratic votes, adding that splitting Ukraine and Israel aid into two separate bills was "under consideration."
According to Bloomberg, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is working on a plan that would involve seizing some of the frozen Russian assets to pay for the bill.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson addressed Republican senators at their annual retreat on March 13, where he floated the idea that the long-obstructed Ukraine aid package could be made into a loan or lend-lease program for the benefit of U.S. taxpayers, the Hill reported on March 14.
"If this sort of discussion will delay the process of the provision of financial assistance, then let's put the discussion aside and take whatever is given," Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said.
U.S. House of Representatives Democrats began collecting signatures on March 12 to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a Ukraine aid bill via a discharge petition, Reuters reported.
This is the first package since last December, as U.S. funds for Kyiv have been blocked by disputes in Congress.
The U.S. may announce later on March 12 a military aid package for Ukraine worth as much as $400 million, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed American officials.
Echoing previous comments by the former president about his plans to negotiate peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that former U.S. President Donald Trump would end the supply of weapons from the U.S., a move that he said would mark the end of the war.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk will visit the United States on March 12, the 25th anniversary of Poland's NATO accession, to advocate for continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a "fantastic leader" while hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on March 8.
House Republicans are working on their own version of an aid bill to Ukraine to speed up the delivery of assistance to the country, with one version including treating nonmilitary aid to Ukraine as a loan, NBC reported on March 9.
Both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved a short-term stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown through the fall, sending it for signature to President Joe Biden.
"As the House continues to stall, Russia is gaining ground and Ukraine is being forced to ration ammunition and supplies," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 7.
Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 7 that after Norway had joined the Czech-led allied initiative on purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, the required funds were collected, Czech outlet CT24 reported.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said he keeps working with House Speaker Mike Johnson's office to hold a vote through regular channels but will start collecting signatures to bypass the speaker if he does not comply.
As Ukraine prepares counteroffensive actions in 2024, continued delays in Western security assistance could postpone the efforts to regain a theater-wide initiative against Russia, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed in their daily report on March 6.
Drawing on the Pentagon reserves would free up about $200 million in immediate military aid to Ukraine.
Victoria Nuland, the third-ranking American diplomat known for her strong backing of Ukraine, will resign from her position as under secretary of state for political affairs in the upcoming weeks, the U.S. State Department announced on March 5.
"There’s not going to be U.S. troops on the ground fighting inside Ukraine," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on March 5.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking advantage of delays in U.S. aid to Ukraine to further Russian military efforts, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a press conference on March 4.
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