‘Time is not our friend’, US warns amid chaos in Congress and changing weather in Ukraine

The Ukrainian defence forces have another six to eight weeks of good weather for the offensive, the White House said on Tuesday, as US further support for Ukraine is in limbo amid the chaotic removal of House speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Mr McCarthy was ousted following a dissent from the far-right wing in his Republican party, which accused the speaker of a ‘secret deal’ with the White House to give aid to Ukraine—something they have vehemently opposed.

Mr McCarthy also oversaw the passing of a temporary short-term budget resolution, which does not provide for Ukraine aid, with Democratic support, angering his more radical Republican peers.

"I can’t speak for battlefield conditions in any one area and how much ammunition they have.  But we know that the counteroffensive has not gone as far or as fast as even the Ukrainians want it to," US national security council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing.

"It’s still a violent fight on two major lines of axes — one in the Donbas area and one down south — the south of Zaporizhzhia. And they’re still fighting it out every single day. 

"Time is not our friend. We’ve got six to eight more weeks of good weather here before things really make it hard for both sides, quite frankly, to fight," Mr Kirby added.

The White House official stressed that any suspension of military aid funding would not be good for Ukraine.

The US is by far the largest donor of military and financial support for Ukraine, having provided approximately USD 45 billion in military equipment since Russia’s full-scale invasion last February.

The Pentagon has warned it is running out of money to plan for further donations, with only USD 1.6 billion left of the USD 25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish US military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine.