Washington - The House voted to formalize the Republican majority's impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Wednesday, a move that could give them more legal firepower to investigate his family's business dealings.
The chamber voted 221 to 212 in a party-line vote to approve a resolution authorizing the probe.
The vote puts Republicans in districts that Mr. Biden won in 2020 on the record about whether they support an investigation that has so far uncovered no wrongdoing by the president.
Republicans on the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees have been trying to show for months that Mr. Biden was enriched by his family's foreign business dealings and accepted bribes. But the full House never voted to open an impeachment probe, leading many Democrats to question its legal authority
"This helps us get the witnesses, the key witnesses, that we want," Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday, adding that it sent a "strong message" to the White House that all Republicans voted for it.
GOP lawmakers have said that a vote to formally authorize the inquiry would give them leverage in court as they seek documents and witness testimony, including from Hunter Biden, who defied a subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition on Wednesday.
Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan prepare for a news conference on their demand that Hunter Biden testify at a closed-door deposition on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
TOM WILLIAMS/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES
That argument helped sway some Republicans who were on the fence about a formal inquiry. Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who represents a district that voted for Mr. Biden, said he changed his mind about formalizing the inquiry because the president stopped providing information.
"I said this summer, if the president is providing information, why do we need an inquiry?" Bacon said Tuesday. "But it changed when he stopped doing that."
The fight over impeachment
The resolution to greenlight the investigation lays out the rules for public hearings and directs the committees to produce a public report with their findings. Another resolution gives the committee chairmen authority to seek judicial enforcement of their subpoenas with witnesses who refuse to testify. Without formalizing the probe, a judge could rule that the subpoenas fall outside of a committee's purview.
"The procedures we're adopting today closely parallel those the Democrats created in 2019," GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said Wednesday.
In 2019, the Democratic-led House approved a resolution to authorize the impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump as witnesses resisted requests for congressional testimony. Much of the language in that resolution is identical to the text in the current measure.
Democrats argue the inquiry against Mr. Biden is retaliation for the impeachments of Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said last week that voting to authorize the probe was a necessary step because of "stonewalling" from the White House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to members of the media on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.
TING SHEN/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
"They're refusing to turn over key witnesses to allow them to testify as they've been subpoenaed," Johnson said. "They're refusing to turn over thousands of documents."
He sought to quell concerns that the vote could be politically risky for some members of his party, saying that the House is only voting to continue the investigation, not on impeaching Mr. Biden.
"Whether someone is for or against impeachment is of no import right now," Johnson said.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, warned Republicans representing districts won by Mr. Biden in 2020 that Wednesday's vote is a "slippery slope" for a vote on impeaching the president.
"It will be a runaway stallion, it will be impossible to stop," Raskin said Monday.
Bacon disagreed that impeachment was inevitable, and said it was "probably more likely than not" that the probe would end without articles of impeachment.
The White House's response
In a lengthy memo released earlier this month, the White House pushed back on the impeachment effort, pointing to a number of quotes from Republicans and witnesses refuting the allegations of wrongdoing by the president. The White House said Republicans have already acquired thousands of pages of bank records and documents and hours of testimony, which it said rebuts the claim that it is "stonewalling" the investigations.
"Instead of doing anything to help make Americans' lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies. Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts," Mr. Biden said in a statement after the vote.
He accused Republicans of not focusing on "real issues" like funding for Ukraine, Israel and border security.
The vote came just days after the president's son Hunter Biden was indicted on tax evasion charges brought by special counsel David Weiss.
Hunter Biden's personal finances and business ventures have been a focus of the congressional committees as they look into whether the president personally benefited from his family's businesses and whether Biden administration officials tried to obstruct criminal investigations into the president's son.
Hunter Biden is among the people in the president's orbit who Republicans want to interview in the coming months. He rebuffed a subpoena from the Oversight Committee for a closed-door deposition set to take place Wednesday, and Republican leaders soon said they would pursue proceedings to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Speaking outside the Capitol, Hunter Biden said he would testify only in an open hearing so that the committee could not distort the facts.
"Let me state as clearly as I can: my father was not financially involved in my business. Not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist," Hunter Biden said.
He added, "There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen."
The Oversight Committee issued subpoenas for the president's brother James Biden and Hunter Biden's personal business records in September. Kentucky Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight Committee, said Wednesday they are "at a pivotal moment" in the investigation.
While Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky begs his Western sponsors for more money and weapons, trying to convince them that he can prevail over Russia on the battlefield, his troops continue to suffer setback after setback in the conflict zone.
Armored units of Russia’s Western Military District have destroyed several Ukrainian strongpoints and gun emplacements in the Kupyansk sector, Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
A short video released by the MoD online shows a Russian tank firing from an exposed position. The video then cuts to the view of the Ukrainian positions being hit by a tank shell; two Russian soldiers can be heard conversing in the background, confirming that a “hit” has been scored.
Watch Russian Lancet Drones Incinerate Ukrainian Weaponry Around Donetsk
Russian paratroopers from Battlegroup Yug employed advanced Lancet loitering munitions to destroy two Ukrainian tanks and a self-propelled gun in the Kleshcheyevka area (Donetsk People's Republic).
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released footage showcasing drone crews among Russian paratroopers carrying out surgical strikes on Ukrainian weaponry near Kleshcheyevka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Following their initial targeting, the paratroopers systematically crush these weapons with utmost precision.
A separate guard formation part of Russia’s Airborne Troops dismantled two tanks and a disguised self-propelled artillery gun with Lancet loitering munitions. Once the combat mission was over, the crew promptly withdrew from the area and safely returned to their position.
Reconnaissance drones are being actively used in the special op zone. They are indispensable in identifying and eliminating camouflaged Ukrainian weaponry. The MoD has highlighted that Russian airborne units have finished off various types of Ukrainian military equipment in the direction of Artemovsk (Bakhmut).
Israeli Mercenary in Ukraine Complains About Conditions and Insufficient Funds
An Israeli mercenary complained about the hardships suffered in the Ukrainian Army and asked for money and weapons through social networks, Sputnik has discovered.
Israel's Ariah Ben Yehudah, 58, is a retired police officer who decided to join the Ukrainian army's Foreign Legion in March 2022. However, his posts on social networks suggest that he may not be fully satisfied with his current situation.
The British-born Israeli mercenary often appeals to his subscribers for support, complaining about insufficient funds to maintain his vehicles. He also encourages them to “put pressure” on governments assisting Ukraine for more military support.
In one example, he recently requested that US President Biden provide 500 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian Army, emphasizing the “urgency” by asking "how many orphans does the West need?” In addition, he conveyed his frustration about the vulnerability of the vehicles he operates, saying he was "sick of flying around in these paper thin war horses."
Yehudah briefly returned to Israel when the conflict between Israel and Gaza broke in early October. However, on November 1 he wrote that he had returned to Ukraine.
Swedish Mercenary Fighting on Ukraine's Side Killed in Conflict Zone - Report
A Swedish citizen who fought for the Kiev regime was killed in the zone of the Russian special military operation, the Swedish agency SVT reports, citing the Scandinavian country's Foreign Ministry.
“The Swede died in battles in Ukraine. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed... that the man is about 30 years old and a native of Svealand,” the message says.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stated that the Kiev regime is using foreign mercenaries as “cannon fodder”, and the Russian military will continue to target and eliminate them throughout the conflict zone.
Many mercenaries themselves have acknowledged during various interviews that the Ukrainian military lacks efficient coordination in their action. Moreover, they face a slim chance of survival in battles due to the intense nature of the conflict, which is unlike what they have experienced in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that neither Israel nor its Western allies want Palestinians to establish an independent state in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday.
"Judging by the stance taken by the West, they are not going to have a Palestinian state established. Our data suggests that the West and the current Israeli government do not want Gaza to be united with the West Bank, as required by the decision to create a state," Lavrov told the upper house of the Russian parliament.
The top Russian diplomat referred to United Nations Resolution 181 as the grounds for establishing a separate Palestinian state. In 1947, the UN General Assembly voted 33-13 to divide UK-governed Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem placed under a special international regime. The partitioning was planned to take place in May 1948 when the British mandate was due to end, but only the state of Israel was established.
Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state in the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the UN.
At the same time, Lavrov said that Russia will never support agreements that threaten Israel's security and neglect the interests of the Palestinian state.
"We will never agree to any arrangement that will... infringe on Israel's security. But we are also convinced that this security can be ensured only in accordance with the UN decisions, which... require that next to this state, also in security, in good neighborliness with each other and with all adjacent countries, the state of Palestine — an independent and autonomous state — should live and develop," Lavrov said.
He emphasized that Moscow believes an international conference on the Middle East settlement is necessary. According to him, the United States and its closest allies will not be able to create “a sustainable, viable concept for the creation of a Palestinian state.”
“The only way for this problem to be resolved once-for-all-time is to hold an international conference with obligatory participation of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, representatives of the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and representatives of the Cooperation Council of Arab States (Persian) Bay," the minister told reporters at the Federation Council.
Lavrov noted that the UN should play a leading role in convening such an event, adding: “I expect that the UN Secretary General is quite capable of taking such an initiative.”
‘No one will stop us from destroying Israel and the US’: How Lebanon is preparing for a war over Gaza that it doesn’t want
Lebanon has faced many challenges in the past few years. First, there were the civil protests, which in their early days resembled a carnival but soon became an absolute nightmare. Then, the country was hit by a liquidity crisis that led to severe inflation. This was followed by a gigantic explosion in Beirut’s port, armed clashes, and the shooting of Shiite protesters.
As a result, darkness literally descended upon Beirut due to a nationwide blackout brought on by the economic crisis. The electricity issues have still not been solved, and inflation keeps growing.
These problems, however, have receded into the background as the threat of war looms over Lebanon. Neighboring Palestine is being bombed and there is a risk that Lebanon may also ‘catch fire.’ The situation is aggravated by the ideology of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which seeks to liberate Jerusalem. The movement regularly attacks Israeli army positions on the border, which prompts Israel to strike back and attack Lebanon’s southern regions.
No unity
One cannot say that the city of Sidon, located in southern Lebanon, is a more dangerous place than Beirut. Even further south, in Tyre, everything is relatively calm, except that one may hear distant sounds of explosions. Frankly, I thought I would see a more depressing picture. However, after driving through several Lebanese towns, I can say that life there continues peacefully.
“Ninety percent of Lebanese people see no reason to fight against Israel and are not ready for war,” said Lebanese journalist Wafiq al-Hiwari, whom I met through friends in Sidon. This vastly experienced Lebanese man has been covering the political situation in his country for many years and does not like to talk about global politics. Wafiq is a fierce opponent of dividing Lebanon into sections based on religious beliefs. He complains that today, there is no unity in Lebanon – the country is broken into pieces and divided between the Shiites, Sunnis, Druze, and Christians.
This conflict has already caused us many problems. About 60,000 Lebanese people living on the border with Israel had to leave their homes. About 70% of them came to live with relatives and friends. And this happened in extremely difficult times from an economic point of view.
And what do you personally think about the situation in Gaza?
Of course, I condemn Israel. And it hurts me to see innocent people die. But if right now you asked me to take part in a demonstration, for example, I would tell you that I have a sick mother and money problems, and I'd rather take care of my family.
And most people think like that?
In general, yes. The crisis has paralyzed Lebanese society. There’s no strength left for either political or social activism. Moreover, religious division also polarizes society. If you ask Christians – for example, members of the Free Patriotic Movement – they will tell you that this situation does not concern them. They’ll say that Hezbollah has started another conflict and poses a threat to the security of Lebanon. If you ask the Druze, they’ll tell you to wait and see how things end. That has been their philosophy throughout history. If you ask the Sunnis, they will say that they are against Israel, but they hate Hezbollah even more and believe that it has conspired with Israel and is plotting against them. And the Shiites will declare that they are the only ones who are ready to fight against Israel and will continue to fight the occupiers until Jerusalem is completely liberated.
In other words, there is no unity in Lebanon either on the Palestinian issue or on any other issue, for that matter.
Deprived of their home
The only people in Lebanon who unequivocally support Gaza are the inhabitants of the Palestinian refugee camps. There are 12 such camps in Lebanon. The largest one is Ain al-Hilweh in the city of Sidon, located in the south of the country. However, the local population associates these camps not so much with Palestine as with poverty and crime.
The Palestinian refugee camps are a unique phenomenon. Lebanese laws do not apply on their territory, and there are no police or military forces to maintain order. De jure, Palestine’s Fatah party, which has concluded an agreement with official Beirut on this matter, is supposed to maintain order in many camps. De facto, however, camps like Ain al-Hilweh are controlled by separate armed groups who fight against each other for the territory and for the right to do business. All the Lebanese authorities could do was construct a wall around the place and guard it along the perimeter.
In other camps, life is a bit more simple. For example, one can freely enter the territory of the Bourj El Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut. Palestinian flags, banners in support of Hamas, and portraits of Palestinian leaders are all over the place. The environment is tense, the people are poor, and there are major problems with electricity. In all the camps, lots of entangled cables stretch along the walls of buildings and cover the houses like a giant spider web.
Approximately 21,000 Palestinians and 12,000 Syrians live in Bourj El Barajneh. The Shatila refugee camp, which is within walking distance of Bourj El Barajneh, is smaller – 20,000 people live there, half of them Palestinians. People complain that Shatila has become a center for drug dealers. The high crime rate is a result of this problem. Most drug buyers are teenagers from Beirut, but sometimes important people come here in search of hard drugs or even weapons. The locals don't like to talk about it, but those with whom I managed to have a word hinted that a lot of people are involved in this criminal business, including the authorities.
In other aspects, the Palestinian camps are equipped with everything necessary for a normal life – there are stores, cafes, schools, kindergartens, and many medical facilities where the medical services are a lot cheaper than in other parts of Beirut. For this reason, Lebanese citizens often seek medical treatment in the refugee camps. They say that the doctors are sometimes even better than those in Lebanon. Syrian dentists and optometrists are particularly praised.
Judging by the atmosphere inside the Palestinian camps, its residents are definitely more radically-minded than regular Lebanese people. In addition to portraits of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, one may also find images of Hezbollah leaders. The Shiite movement is quite popular here, and for good reason.
The Lebanese resistance is waiting in the wings
A few days ago, the press service of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated that Israel is ready to build up its military forces and fight Hezbollah. Israel had made similar statements before. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that if Hezbollah continued striking Israeli territory, Lebanon would suffer the same fate as Gaza.
My sources in Hezbollah said that they consider these threats an attempt to scare Lebanese society so the people would exert pressure on the movement.
Hezbollah has not yet fully engaged in war with Israel. But it has not remained completely passive either. For example, high-ranking Hezbollah officials Hashim Safi Al Din and Sheikh Naim Qassem recently stated that the Resistance in Lebanon will not just sit and silently watch the events in Palestine but will certainly support the residents of Gaza.
Following the statement of Hezbollah’s leader, in which he sharply condemned Israel, the whole world expected sensational news and even believed that a major regional war would break out around November 3. However, the movement made no statements regarding the opening of a second front – a fact that pleased some people and disappointed others.
In short, Hezbollah said that not all military decisions concern the public. Supposedly, the plans are being developed deep ‘underground’ and are kept secret.
“What happens on the Lebanese front will depend on what happens in Gaza,” Hassan Nasrallah said. He added that all scenarios are open, and any particular course of action may be chosen at any time.
“If a regional war breaks out, neither the navy nor the air force will stop us from destroying the military forces of Israel and the United States,” Hezbollah’s secretary-general threatened.
Moscow, however, believes there is “no appetite” for a major conflict in Lebanon or Iran, Lavrov stated, adding that neither country wants “any involvement in this crisis.”
Iran and Lebanon want to avoid ‘big war’ – Lavrov to RT
While there have been border clashes between Israeli troops and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, an organization “devoted to defending the Palestinian cause,” Lavrov claimed that recent televised remarks by the militant group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, suggest that it has “no appetite for a big war.”
That may change if Hezbollah is provoked into action by an attempt to force Palestinians out of Gaza, the Russian diplomat warned.
The same assessment is true for Iran, Lavrov argued, regardless of an escalation of attacks by militia forces on American bases in the region, which Washington has blamed on Tehran.
“Yes, Americans say that some ‘pro-Iranian’ armed groups in Syria and Iraq are trying to attack American military sites,” the Russian minister said, describing such incidents as “nothing new.”
Lavrov suggested that the US military presence in Syria was clearly illegal and was also questionable in Iraq, considering that the latter country’s parliament ordered the government to oust American forces in 2020.
Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington DC has fallen short of convincing US lawmakers to approve $61 billion in funding for Ukraine this year, as per the US press.
Zelensky's Tuesday meeting with US lawmakers reportedly came in sharp contrast with his December 2022 triumphal visit, when he was welcomed by a standing ovation in the House and was gifted an encased American flag that flew over the US Capitol during his visit.
This time, Zelensky got a chillier welcome at a close-door meeting after which House Speaker Mike Johnson told the press: "What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed." As a result, media outlet Bloomberg did not rule out Ukraine failing to get any more funding this year.
In Ukraine, the risk isn’t stalemate. It’s defeat. It springs from two more immediate causes. One is opposition from House Republicans to further U.S. assistance. The GOP lawmakers are holding future weapons packages hostage to the unrelated issue of blocking migrants from illegally crossing the southern border. The other is aid from the European Union that is imperiled by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
House Republicans stand in the way of the Biden administration’s proposed $61 billion package of arms and other help that is critical to Kyiv’s ability to hold the line against Russian forces on the battlefield. Orban, exercising Hungary’s veto as an E.U. member, is blocking $54 billion in budget support that would help pay Ukraine’s bills through 2027. He is also impeding talks that would lead to Ukraine’s eventual membership in the 27-nation group.
Without those infusions of cash, arms and munitions, even the disappointing status quo over the past year, in which Ukraine has not managed to recapture much territory, is unlikely to endure.
Zelensky’s pleas fell flat, at least for now, with congressional Republicans, who are insisting that additional aid to Ukraine can come only with a clampdown on migration at the United States’ southern border. After meeting with Mr. Zelensky, Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, said his skepticism had not changed.
Mr. Johnson said money for Ukraine required more oversight of spending, and “a transformative change” in security at the U.S. border with Mexico. “Thus far, we’ve gotten neither,” he said.
Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told a Washington forum last week that the “big risk” is that Kyiv’s troops could “lose this war.”
"Ukraine is losing all along the front," Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, told Sputnik's Critical Hour podcast. "They're being pushed back. They're not being provided because the US simply can't provide all the ammunition and weapons. The days are numbered."
"There's coup talk in Kiev. Zelensky is feuding with his generals. He tried to fire Zaluzhny in July and they told him, go to hell. The mayor of Kiev has come out against Zelensky. Zelensky's days are numbered and everybody knows that. And everybody knows that there's no new offensive that Ukraine can put up. So the days are numbered there. And throwing bad money after bad is pretty obvious. But Biden is desperate. He's got to get some money out of Congress to at least get through the next couple of months because they will run out of money for Ukraine in the next couple of months. And he's got to get them over the hump until February."
Rasmus believes that at the end of the day, Biden will make concessions concerning border reforms demanded by Republicans in order to ram the Ukraine funding bill through Congress. However, the academic expects that the final package would be far less than the $61 billion initially requested by Joe Biden.
The next year is going to become a year of "finger pointing" as Ukraine is set to lose big and neither Democrats nor Republicans want to parent this defeat.
"What's going on is the Republicans want to end the war, and they can they just choke it off. But Biden will say: 'Oh, look, you lost Ukraine'. But they'll say: 'Oh, no, you lost it. You lost it on your watch'. So, finger pointing time is going on. And of course, finger pointing time is going on big time in Ukraine. And that's a sure sign that the whole policy and strategy is bust. And it's just a question of the turn of events in 2024 and who gets blamed, but they're going to both be pointing fingers at each other as to who's going to be blamed."
Per Rasmus, the US government has a lot on its plate at home, and time is ripe for solving burning domestic issues. He drew attention to the fact that the US is "running chronic trillion and a half deficits every year."
"Why do we have the big gap?" he said. "Well, because we're throwing $1 trillion a year at the defense establishment. The Pentagon gets like $800 [billion] and then $340 billion more for other things. The war is costing $100 billion, $150 billion. Who knows how much now for Israel and Taiwan?"
Presently, the Pentagon has just $4.6 billion in additional authority to provide weapons from its stockpiles to Ukraine, but just $1 billion to replace them, the US media has said, adding that it's not enough to support the Kiev regime's military.
Meanwhile, next year’s €50 billion ($54 billion) in Ukraine assistance from Europe is also in limbo amid opposition from Hungary. Europe is also failing to deliver on its earlier commitment to help get 1 million rounds of 155 mm ammo for Ukraine by next spring. As per Reuters, European countries have so far placed orders for just 60,000 artillery shells under the scheme through the bloc's European Defense Agency (EDA). The small volume of orders highlights "bigger struggles" that the EU is facing while trying to deliver on its pledge, according to the media outlet.
Ukraine was never going to win – US senator
Ukraine always faced the prospect of losing the conflict with Russia in the event that Washington cut off its aid, US Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has said.
His comments came after the US Senate last week blocked a bill by President Joe Biden that was intended to allocate a further $60 billion in funding to Kiev, on top of the $110 billion already spent. Republicans opposed to the package have demanded tougher immigration control on the US-Mexico border in exchange for approving the bill, rejected by the White House.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Tuberville was asked whether cutting off funding to Kiev could result in Ukraine being defeated. The senator replied that he personally “never thought they can win to begin with,” especially with the way the US “eased into” the conflict.
Tuberville also dismissed claims by Kiev’s backers that Russia will advance elsewhere into western Europe once it defeats Ukraine’s forces. The Republican argued that Moscow “can’t beat Ukraine on the eastern side,” and questioned how it was expected to push further across Europe.
“I’ve never believed that scenario. I think it’s a good selling point to send more money,” Tuberville suggested.
The US has so far provided Ukraine with an estimated $111 billion in military and economic assistance since the outbreak of its conflict with Russia in February 2022. While Washington has increasingly warned that funds are beginning to run out, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has nevertheless continued to insist on receiving more money.
The Ukrainian leader traveled to Washington on Tuesday to hold a series of meetings with top US officials, in an attempt to save Biden’s $60 billion aid package. However, Zelensky appears to have failed to convince key Republicans to change their mind about opposing the bill. Instead, some senators left the meeting while describing it as “the same old stuff” and “very scripted.”
Biden has continued to urge Congress to approve the funding package and has also pledged an additional $200 million in emergency military aid for Kiev through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows him to send weapons from US stocks without congressional approval.
Meanwhile, Moscow has brushed off Zelensky’s latest visit to Washington as inconsequential for the outcome of the conflict. Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, claimed that “everyone is tired of the Kievan beggarman.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has also stressed that no amount of money would change the situation on the front lines.
