Ukraine's foreign minister talks to Blinken about unblocking US aid

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Kuleba's post on social media X

I spoke with @SecBlinken and thanked the United States for the recent military aid package, which will help our people resist Russian aggression.

I emphasized the need and urgency of continued U.S. and international support for Ukraine, including air defense and artillery… — Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 16, 2024

Details: Kuleba said that during the call, he thanked Blinken for the latest aid package provided by the United States and stressed the need to ensure continued military assistance from the United States and other allies, including ammunition for air defence and artillery. 

He noted that they had discussed, among other things, the approval of additional funding to support Ukraine. As is known, this issue has been stuck in Congress since autumn 2023 due to disputes between Republicans and Democrats over the policy of countering migration on the southern border of the United States and the refusal by some Republicans, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to continue to provide Ukraine with non-repayable aid.  

Quote from Kuleba: "We cannot allow Russia to use delays in aid to advance, putting all of Europe and the democratic world at risk of an even larger war.... 

Ukraine has demonstrated repeatedly in recent years that with sufficient support, we can defeat Russia on the battlefield. Failure to continue supporting Ukraine would severely undermine the US leadership all across the world and jeopardise American national security." 

More details: Kuleba added that they also talked about the expected outcome of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington this summer. 

The US has not yet published a communiqué on the outcome of the conversation.

Update: Later, a US communiqué said that Blinken had also stressed the need for Congress to swiftly pass supplemental aid for Ukraine.

He also thanked Kuleba for Ukraine’s commitment to implementing anti-corruption reforms needed to advance Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

Background:

• It was reported this week that US House Speaker Mike Johnson has actually agreed to unblock the decision to provide aid to Ukraine, but with significant changes – it should be a House of Representatives bill and should take the form of a loan or lend-lease. 
• Johnson also said aid to Ukraine and Israel would still be divided into separate bills. Any new bill will have to receive enough votes in both the House and the Senate. 
• This week, for the first time since December 2023, the United States announced a new $300 million aid package for Ukraine. It was explained that these funds are the result of unanticipated cost savings in contracts from previous aid packages.

This news has been updated since publication.

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