Russia could attack other parts of Europe after defeating Ukraine, US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy claimed as he called on Republican lawmakers to approve continued funding for Kiev.
Speaking with NBC News on Wednesday following a Republican walkout from a classified Senate briefing on Ukraine, Murphy insisted that unless the US continues to support Ukraine, it will “lose this war” and Kiev will become “a Russian city.”
The Connecticut senator suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin would then have a “green light to march on NATO and Europe,” unless the US acts.
Murphy condemned Republican lawmakers for refusing to pass President Joe Biden’s latest $111 billion aid request, which he claimed would “save the world from Putin’s aggression.”
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to attack NATO or other parts of Europe, and has instead noted that the US-led military bloc has continued to expand towards Russia’s borders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also cited Ukraine’s potential accession to NATO as one of the key reasons for launching the military operation against Kiev in February 2022.
The US has contributed billions of dollars to Kiev amid the fighting with Russia, in order to fund its armed forces as well as the functioning of its government. However, future support is in doubt as the US Congress has been gridlocked for several weeks over Biden’s Ukraine and Israel spending package.
Republicans have insisted that they will only greenlight the bill if Washington boosts spending on the US-Mexico border, and introduces stricter asylum and parole laws in immigration proceedings.
GOP lawmakers have also stressed that their demands are essentially non-negotiable, with Senator John Cornyn stating: “This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.”
Republican resistance has been met with sharp criticism from the Democratic Party. Biden has called on Congress to “immediately” resolve the deadlock, stating that failure to support Ukraine would be “absolutely crazy” and “against US interests.”
Elsewhere, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has claimed that opposing the “fight for freedom in Ukraine” would mean letting Putin “prevail.”
Kiev has stressed that it is in desperate need of Washington’s money, with Andrey Yermak, President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, warning that delays in US assistance could spell defeat for Ukraine’s forces.