Ukraine has no plan ‘B’ if western military aid shortage arises – Minister

5 months ago

MOSCOW: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday that Kyiv has no plan “B” in the event of a shortage of military assistance from the West, reported Sputnik.

“We don’t have plan ‘B’. We are confident of plan ‘A’,“ Kuleba said in an interview with CNN when asked what plan “B” Kyiv has to make up for the shortfall of military assistance.

Kuleba added that the West has “sufficient resources” to keep providing Ukraine with military aid and expressed confidence that “support to Ukraine is not being questioned as such” in the United States and the European Union.

White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, said earlier on Wednesday that US weapon deliveries for Ukraine would have to be halted in the event Congress failed to reach an agreement on further military assistance for Kyiv.

In late December, the US Congress adjourned for the winter holiday break without reaching a deal on border security and additional aid for Ukraine. Republican lawmakers have insisted on the inclusion of more stringent border security measures in the Biden administration’s US$106 billion supplemental funding request, which includes more than US$60 billion in aid for Ukraine. Congress is expected to approve the supplemental bill in early January.

Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kyiv, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict.

In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes. - Bernama, Sputnik