(NewsReady.com) – Republicans in Congress held up Ukraine aid for months because they wanted concessions from President Joe Biden on immigration policy. During that time, Russia made gains in the Eastern European nation. The former Ukrainian president has blamed that period of uncertainty on Russia rampaging through the country.
Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010, spoke to The Associated Press and claimed the “colossal waste of time” by the US Congress prolonged the war. He said Ukrainian troops ran out of ammunition to defend front-line villages and were forced to surrender to Russia. He said the refusal to approve aid sent a signal to Putin that he was allowed to “attack, ruin infrastructure, [and] rampage all over Ukraine.”
Yushchenko also said the deadlock over aid undermined the morale of the countries standing by and helping Ukraine throughout the conflict.
The Russian war on Ukraine is now in its third year. Negotiations between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are at a deadlock. The latter has refused to give Russia any of his country’s territory, something Yushchenko said was not something any Ukrainian politician would agree to do to end the conflict.
The former president said it would be a “big mistake” for Ukraine’s Western allies to expect them to give up any territory because it would just allow Putin to rest and then attack again in the future. History shows he has cause for concern. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, and then eight years later, Putin attacked the country, hoping to take more territory.
The fight over Ukraine funding ended in April, when the US House of Representatives finally passed a $95 billion foreign aid package that included billions for the Eastern European nation. It’s unclear if Congress will be able to get another package through when that one runs out, especially if there’s a change of administration.
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