Biden has 'creative ideas' to keep Ukraine cash flowing – Politico
The Biden administration is looking for “creative” ways to secure further military aid for Ukraine amid mounting opposition at home, Politico has reported. Meanwhile, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper claimed that the White House is considering the possibility of a mega aid package to the tune of $100 billion.
In its article on Friday, Politico quoted President Joe Biden hinting on Wednesday that “there is another means by which we may be able to find funding” for Kiev. According to the media outlet, the US leadership is considering using the State Department’s foreign military financing program. Under this, grants or loans are provided to partner countries to purchase weapons and defense equipment.
Another possible scenario presumably on the table has been floated by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. The scheme envisages a three-way swap in which Poland would get America’s Iron Dome systems and send some of its own air defenses to Ukraine, Politico said. Israel, a co-producer of the system, which has veto authority over transfers, has previously refused to supply it directly to Ukraine despite Kiev’s repeated requests, the article explained.
The media outlet quoted the US lawmaker arguing that “Poland may be able to deploy its Patriot systems to Ukraine, where we’ve already deployed Patriot systems.”
The article concluded that the sheer fact that the Biden administration is apparently being forced to resort to such unconventional workarounds points to the fact that support for further military aid for Ukraine is waning among American lawmakers.
Representative Michael McCaul told reporters that “it’s going to be even harder now with [Speaker] McCarthy gone,” adding that supporters of aid for Kiev in the US Congress are “running out of time.”
Meanwhile on Saturday, The Telegraph, citing anonymous sources, reported that the Biden administration was considering a potential “one-and-done” Ukraine aid package totaling as much as $100 billion. The idea is presumably aimed at avoiding the requirement for multiple funding approvals from Congress until after the 2024 presidential election.
Last week, US House lawmakers passed a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, with new allocations for Ukraine conspicuously absent from it. This came as a growing number of Republicans in the House had been calling into question Biden’s generous aid for Kiev.
Congress has already approved four rounds of Ukraine funding, totaling about $113 billion.
