Senate Majority Leader Schumer off to Ukraine to convey that Congress will approve $60 billion aid

The leader of the majority in the US Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer, is flying to Ukraine to convince President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United States will not abandon Ukrainians and that Congress will approve the $60 billion aid bill, The New York Times and Associated Press report.

In an interview before the trip, Schumer said he would promise Ukrainian government officials that "we’re going to win this fight, and America is not abandoning them."

He plans to meet with Zelenskyy and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi to hear about their issues in the war against Russian aggression.

The NYT notes that in doing so, he wants to show how Congress's delay in providing more aid has "harmed Ukraine's efforts on the battlefield" and urge House Republicans to take action "before it's too late."

In an interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy stressed that Congress must approve further aid to Ukraine, otherwise "more and more of our heroic guys will be in hospitals."

Immediately after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukrainian soldiers "were forced to sacrifice themselves and die" because Congress "is still debating the decision."

On February 14, 2024, US President Biden called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, to immediately vote on the aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

On February 16, it became known that 10 members of the US House of Representatives developed a compromise bill on foreign aid, which provides $47.7 billion for Ukraine.

On February 19, a senior American military official told the US Congress that funding for Ukraine has an uncertain future, as the US military has been forced to pay bills to support Ukraine's military efforts against Russia over the past few months.