An abandoned apartment building damaged in the Russian shelling is seen in Chasiv Yar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian forces in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday May 16, 2023.- AP
An abandoned apartment building damaged in the Russian shelling is seen in Chasiv Yar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian forces in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday May 16, 2023.- AP
Ukraine’s Western allies are concerned that the military support for Kyiv may soon peak, as the US enters a divisive presidential, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing unnamed Western officials.
“Ukraine’s allies fear military support for its battle against Russia is nearing a peak, with senior European officials increasingly concerned about the flow of aid next year as the US enters a divisive presidential campaign,” the Financial Times reported.
According to the FT, Washington has been Kyiv’s major source of military aid. US officials interviewed by the newspaper say the remaining funds preapproved by Congress could sustain Ukraine for about another five months. Western officials in regular contact with the US over Ukraine told the FT that Washington sees that period of time as the last real chance for Kyiv to change the situation on the ground.
“We can’t keep the same level of assistance forever,” a European official told the British newspaper as he argued that the current level of support could be sustained for another year or possibly two years but no more.
Politico reported earlier this week that only $6 billion of the original $48 billion military aid package that the US had approved previously now remains. According to the US publication, Washington’s funds for Kyiv may be fully allocated by mid-summer.
European allies are increasingly uncertain about whether the US will come close to matching its existing $48bn package, adopted in 2022, particularly as it requires a vote in Congress this autumn against the backdrop of more partisan debate on the war, FT reported.
Recently, European leaders promised Zelenskyy an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones during a whirlwind three-day visit to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the U.K. that sought to replenish Ukraine’s depleted weapons supplies ahead of a long-anticipated spring offensive aimed at turning the tide of the war.
Zelenskyy’s energetic international diplomacy over 15 months of war has persuaded Ukraine’s Western allies to send ever more powerful weapons, from German Leopard tanks to U.S. Patriot missile systems and Storm Shadow cruise missiles from the U.K.
The war in Ukraine that began a year ago has killed thousands, forced millions to flee their homes, reduced entire cities to rubble and has fuelled fears the confrontation could slide into an open conflict between Russia and NATO.
With inputs from agencies.
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