Without aid, Russia may seize chance to overrun Ukraine, threaten wider Europe, Zelenskyy warns West
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If Ukraine stops receiving assistance from its Western partners, it will become weaker on the battlefield, giving Russia a chance at victory, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a briefing in Davos on Jan. 17 in response to a question.
"Without the help of the United States, without the help of the EU, Ukraine will fight, but it will be weaker, and this will be an opportunity for Russia to capture us," he said.
In addition to a large deficit in artillery, Ukraine will face a shortage of missiles for air defense, which will make it impossible to repel Russian missiles. Russian air strikes will then result in a larger number of casualties and injuries.
It is thanks to costly air defense systems that Ukraine has no blackouts this year, and that people's homes, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens have water and heat, Zelenskyy stated.
The President also warned that a cessation of aid to Ukraine will precipitate a crisis for the whole of Europe, as Russia could attack NATO countries after seizing Ukraine.
"I believe, to be honest, that Putin really wants this," he said.
The United States announced its last military aid package to date, worth $250 million, on Dec. 27.
A bill to fund approximately $106 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan failed a procedural vote in the Senate on Dec. 6, due to Republican demands for stricter migration policy. Republicans have sought to use Ukraine funding as leverage in negotiations to strengthen the border with Mexico.
Bloomberg reported on Dec. 18, citing the Pentagon, that by Dec. 30, the U.S. Department of Defense would run out of funds to purchase new weapons to replace equipment sent to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Fox News, citing a Republican lawmaker, reported on Jan. 16 that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson would not accept any border security agreement between the Senate and the White House that might unblock aid to Ukraine.
The White House announced on the same day that Biden would hold a meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss the national security spending bill.
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