OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:55 PM – Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday refused to pass a proposal for $24 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, explaining that he would await President-elect Donald Trump's decision on the issue.
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The request comes after the White House Office of Management and Budget asked Congress for additional aid to Ukraine, including $8 billion to buy weapons and repair and replace war-damaged U.S. military equipment. An additional $16 billion is reportedly included.
“As we predicted and told you weeks before the election, if Donald Trump were elected, the dynamics of Russia's war with Ukraine would change, and we did not see that happening. We're looking at it,” Prime Minister Johnson said.
“So it's not Joe Biden's role to make that decision now. We have a newly elected president and we're going to wait and follow the instructions of the new commander in chief on everything. We don't expect funding for 'come now,''' he continued.
The White House's latest request is aimed at providing additional aid to Ukraine through 2026 in preparation for the incoming Trump administration's efforts to end the war through diplomatic means.
“I want Russia to make peace with Ukraine and stop this. Millions have been killed, far more than the number you're reading about. But I want to get it done before I take office. , I want to get that done as the next president, because it has to be solved. Because too many people have died, too many cities are now in ruins, and our culture is being destroyed. , and I will get it done,” President Trump said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has insisted that the “hot phase of the war” could end if Ukraine is admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
But Americans who have expressed concern about a lack of U.S. funding argue that supporting the Russian-Ukrainian war is a waste for the United States as a whole, and that President Zelenskiy has inadvertently transferred his own men to join NATO. Some people accuse them of sacrificing themselves. And Russia has already insisted that Crimea will never be taken.
“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we should bring the Ukrainian territory we control under the umbrella of NATO. That is what we have to do quickly. Parts can be taken back diplomatically,” President Zelenskiy said.
Trump has called for an end to the war in Ukraine, and his special envoy for conflict, Keith Kellogg, has proposed withholding aid to Ukraine if its leaders do not respond to diplomatic negotiations rather than violence. Therefore, it is likely that they intend to conclude it through negotiations.
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