After failing to obtain more funding from the United States for additional military assistance in the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted to Congressmen that he would have to cede territories to Russia without financial and military assistance. His comments come as Elon Musk contributed his opinion to the great risk Ukraine faces if it continues its futile war against Russia.
A Washington Post report published on December 13 states that Ukraine’s leader declared that without more help, the conflict will become even more brutal, and the Ukrainian military will “inevitably” cede “ground to its determined and well-armed adversary.”
Zelensky’s visit to the US Congress occurred during an impasse in the legislative house when Republicans demanded comprehensive changes to US immigration legislation in exchange for approval of the request for more than $60 billion from US President Joe Biden to keep Kiev supplied.
At a White House press conference, Zelensky characterised the meetings as “more than positive” but acknowledged that Ukrainians would have to “separate words from results.”
Biden and Zelensky did not detail Ukraine’s plans for next year, a major concern for Republicans. Biden also discussed when the US would urge Ukraine to negotiate with Russia to end the fighting.
This was the second time in three months that the Ukrainian leader visited the Capitol, and it is hugely contrasted with the visit in December 2022 when he was given a standing ovation at the legislative house and received an American flag that flew over the State Capitol during his visit.
To date, Congress has allocated more than $111 billion to support Ukraine and Biden’s call for more funds is part of a larger emergency spending package that would also provide security assistance to Israel and Taiwan and on the US-Mexico border. Ultimately, the bill failed to pass the vote in the US Senate as it needed support from 60 lawmakers. Only 49 voted in favour, with 51 voting against.
Due to this financing issue, policymakers in Kiev are trying to figure out how to fund their war against Russia if its allies fail to deliver on promised aid, and the options are fraught with risk. According to Bloomberg, the Ukrainian financial toolkit could include increasing tax revenues — an obvious challenge in a battered economy — or cutting expenses to an already beleaguered public and service sector.
“The support from the EU and US is crucial,” said Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko to the agency, adding that Kiev maintains active communication with EU and US representatives to inform them about their needs for the next budget year.
Ukraine’s financial salvation is at stake, especially after Kiev’s counteroffensive failed to make gains, and the arrival of winter brought new difficulties. If the shortage of foreign aid flows exceeds several billion US dollars, Ukrainian authorities will be left with very few choices, and all eventually result in the cessation of more territories to Russia.
Newly committed aid to Kiev fell to the lowest level since the start of the conflict in February 2022, down almost 90% between August and October compared to the same period the previous year, according to data monitored by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) and released on December 7.
“Our figures confirm the impression of a more hesitant donor attitude in recent months,” said Christoph Trebesch, head of the team responsible for the Ukraine Support Tracker and director of a research centre at the Kiel Institute.
In fact, Elon Musk even chipped in with his own opinion on December 12, concurring with the conclusions of David Sacks, a South African entrepreneur, that “Ukraine has lost Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, most of Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia forever. If it doesn’t negotiate a peace deal now, it will also lose Kharkiv, Odesa, the rest of Kherson, and more. The flag wavers who think they’re helping Ukraine are just dismembering it.”
Musk responded on X (formerly Twitter), “Your assessment is accurate [in my opinion].”
The endgame is nearing, and although no one will know exactly when this will be, Ukraine has reached a point where there is nothing they can do once Russia decides to go on the offensive, something the Eurasian Giant has not done in a serious manner for the entirety of 2023 as it instead secured its defensive lines and easily absorbed Ukraine’s attacks to devastating effect. No amount of finance and material support to Ukraine can help the country now, especially as it contends with a huge manpower shortage, and this is extremely evident to any observers of the war who do not see the Ukrainians as nothing more than an expendable force to pursue their Russophobic policies.
