WASHINGTON, December 11 Vladimir Zelensky was invited to speak at the meeting with the entire composition of the US Senate, local media reported, citing the leadership of the chamber.
Continuation of assistance to Ukraine, for which the White House has requested an additional $61 billion, depends on the position of legislators.
“(Democratic) Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell invited President Zelensky to speak at a meeting with all senators on Tuesday morning,” the media quoted a statement from Senate leadership.
The meeting is scheduled for 9.00 local time (17.00 Moscow time).
Zelensky was invited to Washington by US President Joe Biden to discuss “the needs of Ukraine and the importance of continuing American assistance.”
On Wednesday, a bill to allocate more than $100 billion in aid, including for Kyiv and Israel, did not pass a procedural vote in the US Senate, and consideration of the project was blocked.
Democrats previously petitioned to start debate and request a vote by the Senate. To complete the procedure, the preliminary approval of the relevant decision by 60 senators was required. The petition has not received the necessary support; accordingly, the upper house of Congress will not yet be able to consider the request on its merits, much less approve it. 49 senators were in favor, 51 were against. Thus, the attempt to begin substantive work on the bill failed in the Senate following a procedural vote. The bill provides for the allocation of multibillion-dollar funding to assist Ukraine, Israel, as well as measures to resolve the situation on the southern border of the United States.
The issue of border security became a stumbling block when considering a project on new assistance to Kyiv. Republicans in Congress have said they will not support funds for Ukraine until the administration changes its approach to protecting the US border.
Due to the uncertainty in Congress regarding support for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden made a special address. He called on Congress to urgently approve the request for funds for Kyiv. According to the president, Republicans are “shooting Ukraine in the knee” by linking the allocation of new funds to the implementation of their uncompromising demands for border and immigration reform. The White House previously warned that there was a high risk that Ukraine could lose if US assistance was cut off.