Not giving money is politically suicidal: politician on US aid to Ukraine

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"In the Congress, it is said that a working group has been set up, with half Republicans and half Democrats. This working group will be active after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, that is, from 23 November to 25 December. And they are likely to reach an agreement, because there are elections in the US, and they are very responsive to voter sentiment. And recently there was an interesting study that showed that 56% of Americans are simply angry with what is called American politics, that is, what is happening in Congress, with these internal strife, long speeches, and the fact that internal party interests are sacrificed for the national interests of the United States. And this is making Americans frankly angry, and in an election year, it is dangerous," the politician said.
According to him, the Republicans are even more often criticised for their inability to be guided by national interests, for forgetting about national interests in pursuit of their short-term party interests.

"I'm coming to the point where not giving them the money is politically suicidal, meaning they can bargain, they can stall a little bit. But I can't imagine a situation where there would be a negative vote to provide this aid. I would note that the White House insists that we are talking about one package, which includes money for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Otherwise, Biden will veto it, and he has already demonstrated this readiness. This is a very serious game," emphasised Rybachuk.

In his opinion, if the issue of providing assistance to Ukraine is put to a fair vote, such a resolution will have enough votes.

"The struggle is to simply not put this issue on the agenda, because the right to put it to a vote is in the hands of the Speaker. And the newly elected speaker should already be aware that he is taking on a huge responsibility and that, to put it mildly, some Trumpian interests or the interests of this small militant faction of Trumpists may be put on the back burner, because the stakes are very high. I can't imagine not voting for the aid package that the White House is pushing for. Therefore, I predict that they will reach a compromise in the working group. Maybe there will be some changes, most likely something will be reduced, because they need to save face somehow," Rybachuk concluded.

• On 2 November, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, which does not include funds for Ukraine. However, on 7 November, the Senate blocked it.
• On November 8, the White House said that the United States had used about 96% of the amount allocated to help Ukraine, but the Pentagon had $1.1 billion left for Kyiv.
• On 10 November, it is announced that the United States will continue to provide military aid packages for Ukraine, but they will be much smaller in the short term.
• On 16 November, US President Joe Biden signs a bill to temporarily fund the US government without funding for support for Ukraine and Israel.
• On 18 November, Bloomberg reported that Congress is likely to conclude negotiations and pass a new aid package for Ukraine in mid-December.