Ukraine shocked by US delay to pass $60 billion aid package

Ukraine said on Tuesday, March 19, it was shocked the United States had not yet approved a new package of wartime aid, as it struggles with battlefield shortages two years into Russia's invasion.

The $60 billion aid package has been held up in the US House of Representatives for months, as Republican lawmakers insist new funds be linked to more action against illegal immigration.

"What really matters and what does shock us is that the decision has not been adopted yet," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an online briefing for foreign media. "We are approaching the end of March and deliberations continue, deliberations on the issue of vital interest, strategic interest of the US in Europe."

Kuleba's comments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said a swift decision from Congress was "critically important" during a meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham.

'The United States will not let Ukraine fail'

Addressing more than 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world who are meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed on Tuesday that the US will continue to support Ukraine's war effort against Russia, even as Congress remains stalled over funding to send additional weapons to the front.

The United States will not let Ukraine fail," said Austin. "This coalition will not let Ukraine fail. And the free world will not let Ukraine fail."

The meeting comes a week after US defense officials found and used $300 million in contract savings to fund a new package of military aid for Ukraine, pulling weapons from Pentagon stocks.

During the session, leaders from other nations promised new aid for Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters that Germany will provide ammunition and armored and transport vehicles worth about €500 million.

"We are helping Ukraine with what it needs most in its defense against Russian aggression," Pistorius said, adding that the aid includes 10,000 rounds of ammunition from the German Army, or Bundeswehr, stocks that would be delivered to Ukraine very soon, as well as 100 armored vehicles for the infantry and 100 transport vehicles.

Asked whether he still sees the Americans as a reliable ally considering the ongoing delay in funding approval by Congress, Pistorius said, "I have no doubt about the reliability of the Americans."

Ukrainian troops have reported ammunition shortages as a result of the delay, while Russian forces have been advancing along parts of the front line.

Le Monde with AP and AFP