Joe Biden (Photo: EPA/SHAWN THEW)

Congress must provide aid to Ukraine, including artillery and air defense, US President Joe Biden said at a meeting with leading American lawmakers.

The continued inaction of Congress endangers the national security of the United States and NATO.

He urged lawmakers to quickly provide new aid to Ukraine to "send a strong signal of US resolve."

Biden also made it clear that the United States should address the issue of the border with Mexico.

"He is encouraged by the progress being made in the bipartisan negotiations happening in the Senate. He expressed his commitment to reaching a bipartisan agreement on border policy and the need for additional resources at the border," the White House said in a statement.

On January 4, 2024, the White House announced that the US has run out of money to finance military aid to Ukraine, so Congress must urgently approve a new support package.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that "on January 8, the Senate returns from vacation, on January 9, the House of Representatives comes back, and, without exaggeration, a decision can be made on any following day."

On January 12, the representative of the White House, John Kirby, said that the United States had stopped military aid to Ukraine, so Congress should approve a new package to support Kyiv.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said Thursday that American lawmakers oppose Putin, but the "status quo [in Ukraine] cannot be maintained."