Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy and top aides to US President Joe Biden were yesterday to make their case to US senators about why a fresh infusion of military assistance is needed to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders.
The White House says the US would spend all it has available for Ukraine by the end of the year, a dire prediction that comes as Kyiv has struggled to make major advances in its counteroffensive against Russia.
Biden’s administration in October asked the US Congress for nearly US$106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but Republicans who control the US House of Representatives with a slim majority rejected the package.
Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / handout via Reuters
US Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, in a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders, said that cutting off funding and a flow of weapons would “kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield” and increase the likelihood of Russian victories.
“I want to be clear: Without congressional action, by the end of the year, we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks,” Young wrote in the letter released by the White House. “There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a close Biden ally, announced on Monday night that the administration has invited Zelenskiy to address senators via secure video as part of a classified briefing “so we can hear directly from him precisely what’s at stake in this vote.”
In addition, a variety of top Biden officials, including US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were expected to brief the senators.
Schumer also started the process of advancing a Ukraine-Israel emergency aid bill on the Senate floor.
“America’s national security is on the line around the world” with the fate of Ukraine aid hanging in the balance, Schumer said in a Senate speech. “Autocrats, dictators waging war against democracy, against our values, against our way of life. That’s why passing this supplemental is so important. It could determine the trajectory of democracy for years to come.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
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